The Ties That Bind Us
by Jazba
Summary: Reincarnation; some believe in it, others don't. When an adult woman is reincarnated within the world of Percy Jackson as a human who can see through the Mist how will she navigate this world filled with monsters, half-bloods, Gods and Goddesses. SI-OC. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

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Chapter One

Her Mother was a heavy believer in the fact that reincarnation was real. She always believed her Mother was a little insane for that belief. Death in her opinion was when you were buried in the ground or turned to ash. She didn't believe in the afterlife or reincarnation. Death was the permanent end. Of course, she had to be proven wrong.

When her eyes closed for what she believed was the last time silence seemed to surround her, a silence that was occasionally disturbed by the sound of crickets. When she eventually opened her eyes again it was to sound of loud muffled voices.

She remembers hating the fact that her eyes had opened. Thinking that somehow, someway, someone had stumbled upon her and decided to 'save' her. Of course those thoughts were quickly dashed when she realised how different everything felt.

It was disorienting for her at first, terrifying in fact. See, when babies are born their eyes are so undeveloped that entire world becomes a blur. She could see shapes, edges, the outline of things, but other than that she couldn't make out any distinguishing features.

Not being able to see and having a complete lack of control over her body terrified her to her very core. The sensations, sounds and smells surrounding her were left her completely overwhelmed. She was blind, confused and helpless. So she did the only thing she could do which was scream. But even then the voice leaving her mouth was completely foreign to her ears. Perhaps that was why after a few moments she stopped and could do nothing other than sniffle and sob silently.

She was a quiet baby, hardly making a noise ever since her first outburst. She took to just gazing up at the cream ceiling of the room she was within. Processing what had occurred, trying to make sense of what had happened. Finally, after the few days that it took for her to come to terms that she had been reincarnated, she came to the realisation that the woman who had given birth to her had done so within her own home. Her very unsanitary home.

Her parents were so wrapped up within their own world that they hardly noticed her lack of interest in them. She was closed off, refusing her new parents love because deep inside her, she knew they weren't hers. The woman who leaned over her cooing was not the strong proud woman who had grilled her through hours of etiquette and piano lessons. The man who held her was not her Father, a man who had constantly loved her. Had celebrated her every achievement and accepted her for everything that she was. And the sad thing was, in her mind they never could be. They would never live up to the people who had first brought her into the world and raised her.

The woman who had brought her into this unwanted world again was young, very young, possibly 18 at the most and was called Sofia. She was of Latino decent with long black hair and soulful brown eyes. While her partner Brett looked to be in his late 20's early 30's, with plain features and a plain name. He wasn't very memorable.

It soon became clear to her that the family she had been born into was drastically different from her own. Not only due to the lack of her actual parents, but because of the drastic change of living arrangements. She had nothing against living in a trailer park, but she had been brought up in the lap of luxury so it was slightly disconcerting to suddenly find that she would be growing up in a small run down caravan. Her only thought was that perhaps her snobbish actions in her past life had lead to her getting a lesson in humbleness.

Until she was around eight months old they cared as well as they could for her. Changing her diapers when needed and making sure she was fed. The embarrassment that such actions brought her were unspeakable and she did all she could to eliminate them from her memory. After that though it all seemed to go down hill. She refused to be fed, unwilling to let someone hold her bottle, wanting to feed herself. She wanted the independence she had once had and was in no way willing to relinquish control of her life to two people so much younger than herself mentally speaking.

She refused to crawl, instead beginning to walk as soon as her muscles allowed, dragging herself along with the help of the cold hard walls of the caravan. She preferred to take care of herself, so used to caring for her own needs. She hardly ever spoke and when she did it was in sentences that no ordinary child would use. There was no potty training needed thank god.

Within the first few years of her life she also came to the conclusion that her parents were heavily reliant upon drugs to keep them 'happy'. In a way she was thankful that both of them were so completely immersed within their drug-induced haze that they didn't notice anything different about the child they had brought into the world.

Maybe she could have drawn their attention to her, given them a reason to give up their addiction. But, in a way she couldn't. She couldn't be a child when mentally she would never be one. She looked after them as best she could, especially Sofia. She badgered Sofia into eating breakfast and made sure that both Sofia and Brett's cigarettes were always put out if they fell asleep. She took to parenting them as best she could.

The most disturbing factor of being reincarnated though was the fact that she did not look like 'herself'. Perhaps if she had gained even one feature from her original life she would have adjusted better, tried less to live the life she had left and not constantly attempted to create parallels with her current one. So it came as no surprise that when she first saw her reflection she was torn between falling over in shock or completely breaking down, when she finally saw that the person she now was.

Where there had once been a mass of curly red hair that seemed to be on fire she now had dark brown straight hair. Her eyes, which had been an unnaturally beautiful green that she had been ever so proud of, had been replaced with a warm earthy brown. Porcelain skin was now naturally tanned due to Sofia's Latino heritage. Where her bones had once been fine, with high cheekbones she now had a thicker bone structure. Already she knew that within this new body she would have curves that her previous one would have only ever achieved through surgery.

After a few moments of heavy breathing and counting backwards from ten she looked up at her reflection and steeled herself. If this was her second chance she was going to use it and she was going to use it well. She would graduate early; finish her degree hopefully in less than the four years usually required. She would get her PhD again, she would save lives sooner rather than later. She was going to put in place plans that she had only begun to prepare for before her previous life ended.

Either way, she did not expect at the age of four for a very large spanner to be thrown into her plans by her 'parents' when they decided that she was just one extra mouth to feed, especially when prices were steadily increasing. So it was decided that Sofia would take her out for a walk and 'forget' her. Many would judge her lack emotion when she discovered what the two were planning, but she understood that to some a drug was more important than anything in the world.

She could have sprung them the moment she heard them talking about the idea. She could have yelled and screamed. Instead all she does is take a deep breath and sigh softly. There is nothing to be done. She has no real connections with them, even after nearly four years within their care. In a way she welcomes the chance to leave them, perhaps she will be placed within the foster care system or adopted, either way a door of opportunity will open, of that she is sure and she is nothing if not resourceful.

So, when Sofia took her for a walk in the city and left her near an alleyway, which was not her smartest idea, and kissed her on the forehead she knew it was goodbye. Leaning back against the stone cold wall of the alleyway she wondered not for the first time whether she was truly insane or just psychotic to happily let herself be left in a city where anything could happen to her.

The event that lead to this story being told, occurred no less than three hours after Sofia had left. A woman walked past her and stopped, turning around and crouching down before her so suddenly that she nearly fell backwards onto her bottom. With black hair that fell in ringlets framing her face partially tucked under a linen shawl and warm brown eyes the woman was a beauty to behold. She smelt heavenly, like burning wood, crackling fire and warm marshmallows. It seemed to her as if the woman was what she had been waiting for since entering in to her new life. This unknown woman was happiness, warmth, family, but most of all, home.

Before she even could comprehend what she was doing her arms were wrapping around the unknown woman's shoulders as she breathed in her scent contentedly, utterly at peace.

"What is your name child?" The woman asked, her voice calm and caring.

For a moment she stopped, wondering whether she should use the name that Sofia had given her and live her new life with her new name. But, she just couldn't be rid of it, couldn't be rid of her real name and when faced with the option to use it she jumped at it. Because suddenly she had something that was entirely hers, something that would represent who she was inside.

"My name is Faye, Faye Edwards."

A surge of pride and happiness flowed through Faye as she spoke her name. It was something she had always been proud of and had never shied away from. In return the woman smiles.

"Mine is Hestia, Faye." The woman tells Faye, the kind smile never leaving her face allowing for her to bask in the warmth of it.

For Hestia the mortal girl before her is a mystery that she has never before encountered. Faye gives off the faint feeling of a the Morai, a feeling that most would miss. But the Morai have no children and Hestia can already tell that the child before her is no demigod. Faye holds herself with such poise, yet beneath is all Hestia can see the remnants of a broken and lost little girl residing inside the child.

"Well Faye Edwards, where is your family?" Hestia questioned, her voice soft and warm.

Faye looks into Hestia's eyes unblinking, studying the woman before her. "I have no family."

Hestia loves her family. She adores her siblings and her numerous relatives, but she has never once had a child of her own. Now with this little mortal child, a child that can so obviously see through the Mist if she has noticed Hestia, she imagines she feels what a mother must feel when they hold their firstborn. As if the world revolves around the child in front of them and as if all the love they have will be poured perfectly into them.

The child reeks of desire, of the want to be loved, of the absolute utter desperation for a family. Hestia can hear the child's prayer echoing within her mind as if she has screamed it in her ear. _Family, give me my family._ If the child that has an aura unlike anything she has ever felt before wants a family she will give her one.

Whether it was simply curiosity or simply an act of genuine kindness Hestia wrapped her arms around Faye and stands lifting her up, positioning her on her hip. Faye looked up at Hestia with wide brown eyes that seemed to hold maturity in them beyond her physical age and snuggled into Hestia further.

"Well Faye, if you do not have a family, I will become your family. I am going to take care of you from now on."

And that is where our story begins, though whether it will end with happiness or tears of sorrow is still unknown.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed! I originally put this up on a whim as it had been sitting in my documents for a while and I've never has such a wonderful reception towards a story, let alone one chapter. I promise that I'm going to try my best to make this story interesting and well written. I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

 **Also a note to my readers I've decided** **changed the years that the stories take place in, it shouldn't make too big a difference to the timeline. Sorry if this annoys anyone.**

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Chapter Two

Faye knew there was something different about her caretaker within a few moments of being carried by her. For one, Hestia was wearing clothes that would likely get a few stares yet no one seemed to take any notice of her. Secondly, Hestia had not yet bumped into anyone, not even once while walking through the crowded streets of New York. Thirdly, when Faye noticed a man with one single eye within the middle of his head Hestia did too and waved him off with a smile. Thus Faye knew without a doubt there is something very wrong with Hestia.

But, she could not find it within herself to care. For the first time in four years she was filled with familial love. She didn't know why or how but the woman before her had invoked the sensation of love inside her chest so fiercely that it physically hurt. She could not loose that emotion, no matter what, not after being without it for so long.

So all Faye did in response to all the madness occurring around her was snuggle herself deeper into the crook of Hestia's neck, slowly she drifted off to sleep. She wanted to hide away in the safety of Hestias arms forever, she wanted to ignore the churning in her gut that told her something was very wrong and that the world she lived in had suddenly become a very dangerous place.

When she awoke it was to the sound of humming. The smell of fresh linen filled her nose and she burrowed deeper into her pillow before the events of the previous day came flooding back to her causing her to sit violently upright. The room she was in was beautiful, the furniture was all made out of wood, a fire was burning warmly within a hearth and the one window within the room was open to what appeared to be a garden outside. The humming that awoke her drifted from the open door of her room, beckoning to her. With trepidation Faye climbed out of the large bed, sinking her toes into the thick rug beneath her feet as she tiptoed out of the room and into an open hallway.

As she stumbled down the hallway Faye found herself frozen as she stared from within the hallways out into what appeared to be a large lounge room and dining room that opened up into a kitchen. The whole place was very open, with no walls separating the three rooms except for the kitchen bench, which created a barrier between the kitchen and both the lounge and dining room. It was simple, warm, open and gave off the feeling of a home. It wasn't just a house that someone lived in, it was a home that was loved and well cared for. It was a place whose owner had put their heart and soul into the making of.

Hestia leaned over the stove, spatula in hand, she wore a plain white shift dress and her hair was tied back in a low messy bun. Her posture seemed to exude warmth and kindness. Abruptly the humming stopped and she turned to face Faye, cheeks flushed pink.

"Good morning Faye, are you hungry?" She questioned, her lips curling into a smile.

For a moment Faye felt trapped, caught in a situation she could not control with an adult that so clearly wanted to take care of her Faye felt her control slipping, she wasn't the one holding all the cards, this woman did.

Tentatively she had crept closer to Hestia, the smell of fresh pancakes wafted through the air and automatically Faye smiled softly, her eyes closing as she breathed in the scent. It reminded her of early mornings spent cooking pancakes for her family, of a happier time that she so desperately wants to go back to. Tears welled behind her closed eyelids and when she opened them she was face to face with Hestia.

Once again Hestia has crouched down, spatula forgotten upon the ground and her hand came to rest on Fayes head. Slowly she threaded her fingers through Fayes hair, stroking it gently as sje whispered soft words in a language that Faye could not understand. Faye swallowed hard and dug her fingernails into her palms as she attempted to drive away the painful memories of a life that she was no longer apart of, of loved ones she would never again hold. She refused to return the hug, refused to allow another person into her heart no matter how much she wanted it. Faye couldn't deal with the pain that would follow when Hestia would disappear from her life as well.

"I am very hungry" Faye murmured, her voice came out in a croak which caused Hestia to hold her just a little tighter before finally letting her go and standing up.

"Well then Faye, go sit over there, I'll go get the pancakes ready." Hestia said, nodding towards the dining table, her voice was unwavering as she began to plate up the pancakes.

Faye is stupefied for a moment, Hestia didn't question her reaction and she didn't try to force Faye to explain her inability to currently hug Hestia back. Relief coursed through her and she walked over to dining table and sat down. The table had already been set and a glass jug filled with orange juice sat just waiting to be poured, it was as if she had walked into a fairy tale. Within minutes Hestia had placed the plate of pancakes down on the table, she motioned with her hand for Faye to begin eating and tentatively Faye picked up a pancake before pouring maple syrup over it.

The pancakes were sweet and fluffy and Faye couldn't stop a small moan escaping, eyes closed and mouth upturned in a smile of appreciation. She was never going to be able to eat pancakes again after tasting Hestia's. Reaching out she added more pancakes to her plate and began to devour them. After she had polished off four pancakes she placed her cutlery neatly on her plate, downed her glass of juice and stared at Hestia who had pulled up the chair across from her while she had been wolfing down her food.

"So, what's going to happen now?" Faye questioned. "Not that you haven't been wonderful to me Hestia, but I don't even know you. What do you want? If you want to adopt me you'll have to do it legally, I won't settle down in a home just to be wrenched away from it due to the foster system."

For a moment Hestia was shocked with the words that had come out of Fayes mouth but she seemed to compose herself quickly. She studied Faye before she leaned back in her chair and stared out the window biting her lip, perhaps she hoped she could avoid the questions. The words that had come out of Fayes mouth were too mature for a four year old child, especially one that had been left alone in an alley. Faye is not a normal child; it is obvious in the way that she holds herself and the way she thinks carefully before responding to Hestia. But Hestia truly cannot seem to care, so what if the child that she has claimed as her own is more mature than most? It doesn't matter to Hestia that Faye is a little abnormal, Faye needs her and already Hestia can see a life where she needs Faye. The two of them will become a family; she will have a true home with Faye in her life. After about five minutes Hestia turned back to Faye and sighed deeply.

"I'm going to take care of you Faye. I want to get to know you, to look after you, I want to be your parent, your family. With your permission I'll do so legally, I won't let anyone take you away from your home."

Faye gasped, her breath caught in her throat as she takes in the words said, her face schooled in a stoic mask. What Hestia wanted was something that Faye didn't know if she could give. She didn't know if she could let Hestia become her maternal figure, she didn't know if she could accept Hestia as her family let alone confide in the woman. Did she want to invite this unknown woman into her life?

As if sensing her unease Hestia leaned forward in her chair, capturing Fayes hands in her own. Hestia bit her lip, her fingers tightening around Fayes as if she believed if she held on tightly enough the girl would choose to stay, her eyes seemed to plead with Faye to say yes, to trust in her and believe the words she had said.

"I promise you I will care for you to the best of my abilities Faye. I swear that I will never allow harm to come to you. I must warn you though, sometimes things will occur around you that you may not understand and may even seem bizarre, but I need you to not ask about these things. I need you to wait until you are older for me to tell you. So please Faye, let me be your family." Hestia tried again, her voice raising an octave by the end of her speech leaving her cheeks flushed and eyes glassy.

"I can agree to that. Though I would like it if you could extend the same courtesy to me. As you may have noticed, I am a little more mature than those my age, please don't pay too much attention to such things." Faye said, her body and tone of voice radiated calmness, but the slight tremble of her fingers that were held within Hestias gave her away.

With a shaky laugh Hestia nodded, accepting Fayes words without a seconds hesitation before standing up and gathering Faye into her arms, a large content smile gracing her face. The hug was warm and safe and for a moment Faye was tempted to not hug her back, to go back on her word and run for the door, but the want to believe in Hestia was too much. She was a woman within a childs body, a woman who had been through too much and had lost even more, she needed something to hold onto, to centre her or she was going to go insane. So warily she wrapped her arms around Hestia returning the hug, trying to convey to the woman before her how very thankful she was.

After that both Hestia and Faye soon fell into perfect harmony with each other, becoming in touch with each others moods and personal quirks. They both fell into a routine, in the morning Hestia would cook breakfast, her voice filling the small house with happiness. The two of them would spend hours together throughout the day. Hestia never asked questions when she did something more mature and adult than a child of her age should. Instead she seemed to accept Fayes differences, applauding her accomplishments and even enabling her to do things she shouldn't yet be allowed to. They spent time apart during the day, Hestia sometimes disappearing for hours on end while Faye busied herself in the garden or learning Greek. Sometimes the two would even walk into town, Hestia took great pride in buying a multitude of clothing and toys for Faye and showing her off to the people within the small town. While their nights were spent together in front of a fireplace, curled up together before making their way into their beds only for Hestia to climb into Fayes bed not even an hour after they had parted. The two were truly becoming a family of sorts.

The day that things began to change Faye awoke with a start to Hestia shaking her awake. The sun wasn't even up though the sky outside was beginning to lighten just slightly; the cool morning air flowed through the window cause Faye to shiver. Hestias usually warm brown eyes filled with worry, hair in disarray and her skin a pale white.

"I'm going to be gone for a while, I'm so sorry Faye but I have to. I don't have a choice." She sounded distressed and worried.

Faye reached her hand out to squeeze Hestias comfortingly before leaning forward to kiss the woman on the cheek, attempting to convey her concern and love for the woman that had taken her in for the past four months.

"Can I help?" She questioned, her eyes searching Hestias face for any signs that could tell her what had driven the usually strong woman into a fearful mess.

"No, there is something I have to do. I will be gone for just a day Faye, in that time my mother is going to come and look after you, her name is Rhea, now go back to sleep darling, she'll be here when you wake up. I'm so sorry I have to go, I wish I didn't have to leave you, I promise I will be as quick as possible. Be safe." And with one last hug and a kiss on Fayes forehead Hestia disappeared out the door of her room.

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When her eldest daughter contacted her about needing a favour Rhea was eager to agree. Hestia was her favourite child, not that she would ever tell anyone so. She was her firstborn daughter, her first child; there was a bond between the two that she would never have with her other children.

Rhea had been taken aback when after agreeing to help Hestia she had asked her to swear secrecy to the River of Styx over the favour. She had indulged Hestia and agreed, swearing herself to secrecy unless Hestia allowed her to speak of the matter knowing that her eldest daughter was unlikely to be doing anything that would put her siblings and the other Gods at risk.

Thus, it was to Rheas utter astonishment when Hestia confided in her that she currently owned a small house within the human realm in a small town called Woodstock that was about two and a half hours away from the Empire State Building in New York. But, that wasn't the most unusual thing that Hestia had done, according to her daughter she had recently adopted a young girl, a young girl who was a clear-sighted mortal. Not only that, but Hestia had hidden the fact that she was a Goddess from the child and expected Rhea to act accordingly. Rhea was ready to have kittens she was that frustrated with her daughter. She had believed Hestia to have a good head on her shoulders, to not go off on crazy schemes like her other siblings. Perhaps her daughter had finally cracked under the pressure of having to deal with their chaotic family.

Her opinions aside though, Rhea was Hestias mother and as such she would help her child. It seemed that Zeus had called a meeting and Hestia, not wanting to draw attention to her adopted daughter needed Rhea to look after the child until the meeting was done. Thus Rhea arrived at her daughter house a frown marring her beautiful face as she took in the place her eldest now called home. It was just not done, Gods did not 'adopt' mortals, they could patron them of course, but not adopt them and raise them as their own. For goodness sakes the Gods were not even allowed to be a part of their own Demigods lives, she wanted to shake her daughter until she saw sense.

Rhea sighed deeply and opened the door, stepping into the house, a small smile finding its way onto her face. The house was a home that much was obvious, the smell of bacon filled the air and Rhea curiously began walking towards where she assumed the kitchen was to find the source of smell.

Leaning over a stove, standing on a wooden step was a young girl. She wore a pale yellow summer dress that seemed to make her tanned caramel coloured skin glow. Long dark brown hair was pulled up into a high ponytail away from the girls face allowing Rhea the perfect view of the girls calm expression as she flipped rashes of bacon in a pan and swirled poached eggs around in a pot. The girl seemed perfectly at home in the kitchen which she had not expected considering she was meant to be only four years old.

"Hello dear, I'm Rhea, my daughter Hestia sent me to care for you today." Rhea said, "Would you like some help?" She questioned as an afterthought.

Startling slightly the girl whipped around and Rhea felt something stir deep within her gut, warm earthy brown eyes that seemed much to old to belong to a four year old stared back at her, narrowing slightly as they took her in analysing her.

"No need Miss Rhea, I'll be quite fine on my own. Would you perhaps also like breakfast? I cooked enough for two as Hestia told me that you were coming this morning." The girl asked her.

For moment Rhea was stunned into silence, the childs voice had been strong and steady when speaking to her unlike other children her age that usually stuttered or spoke softly when speaking to unknown adults. The girl also spoke with much more maturity than any child her age and Rhea couldn't help but marvel at the child that Hestia had adopted as her own. She could see the desire behind her want to adopt the child, she was mature and gave off the feel of an entity that Rhea hadn't felt in years, with an aura similar to the Moirai, yet clearly Faye was a clear-sighted mortal. It seemed that the child was an enigma.

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It was clear to Faye that the woman who had entered the house was related to Hestia. With dark curly hair so similar to her daughters and a near identical facial structure they were without doubt mother and daughter. Rhea was a beauty, that much was obvious, grass green eyes and full lips, she definitely turned heads and it seemed that she knew it as she wore a bright red, black and gold floral dress that stood out within the warm earthy tones of the room.

Carefully she had prepared the breakfast for both herself and Rhea, introducing herself in between plating up their food at Rheas behest. The woman was kind, friendly and seemed genuinely eager to learn more about Faye. For the first few hours after meeting the woman that was her guardians mother Faye had been on edge, Rhea was a new factor that she wasn't used to, she seemed much to young to be Hestias mother, but the similarities between the two and her temperament allowed for Faye to believe that she was.

She had laughed softly to herself when she realised that Rhea was the name of the Titaness within Greek Mythology who was the mother of the Goddess Hestia. Perhaps their family were lovers of Greek Mythology. Upon asking Rhea about such things the woman had laughed a full bellied laugh, doubling over in her chair, cheeks flushed red as she had never heard anything so funny before calming down and informing Faye that her family were lovers of Greek Mythology and all of their family had been named after people within the legends and myths.

Faye enjoyed Rheas company. The woman didn't speak down to her as if she was a child and was happy to let her work independently during the day, only offering help, not forcing it upon her.

Rhea was eager to help Faye in her attempt to learn Greek and was a wealth of knowledge when it came to learning languages, suggesting that Faye learn Latin as well. The two enjoyed each others company, talking long into the night about a multitude of subjects. Faye could tell that Rhea had not been originally happy with her daughters decision to adopt her, she could tell by the way that she had first studied her, as if attempting to find her faults and flaws. Though Faye was sure she had won the older woman over by the end of the day. Rhea was mother at heart and a genuinely kind woman so it was easy to speak plainly with her.

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It was nearly 12:30pm by the time that Hestia arrived home at night, tired and worn from listening to her siblings squabble. All she wanted to do was go home and slip into the bed she shared with Faye, cuddle the little girl close and breath in her scent, which Hestia now associated with home.

Instead, when she opened the door to her house she was met with an image that would be burned into her mind for all eternity. Rhea was reclined in a large rocking chair, slowly rocking back and forth, humming a song and held securely in her arms, curled into a tight ball was Faye.

The sight warmed Hestias heart and she couldn't help the large smile that broke out on her face, the sight drove away her weariness and replaced it with contentment and joy. This was her family, she could see it so clearly now and she knew that she would fight for it with everything that she had. She knew how the others were quick to anger, to become monsters when annoyed, she would not allow them to play games with her daughter, she would ruin them if they tried. She would protect Faye, and if the way her mother was holding Faye was any indication Rhea would as well.

"She tried to stay up for you. There's dinner waiting for you in the fridge if you would like it. We decided to make cookies as well." Rhea said, looking up and acknowledging Hestia for the first time since she walked into the room.

Hestia nodded, not saying a word and slipped into a seated position on the floor next to the rocking chair. Looking up into her mothers eyes she searched them for any indication that she was still annoyed with her for adopting Faye, when she found none she let out the breath that she didn't know she was even holding in.

"Would I be right in assuming you want to be a part of my daughters life?" She questioned softly, not raising her voice above a soft whisper to assure Faye wasn't awoken.

Rhea raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow, her lips quirking as if the question amused her. Subconsciously Rhea tightened her grip on Faye and stared down at the mortal child that had begun to worm her way into her heart.

"Well obviously dear, I'm her grandmother aren't I." Rhea stated straightforwardly.

Slowly Rhea had stood up, making sure not to jostle Faye awake before she handed her to Hestia who was quick to take Faye from her arms. With a quick thanks to her mother for looking after her daughter Hestia walked off to her bedroom to put her daughter to bed. It had been a long day and Hestia was all to happy to curl up into her large bed and wrap herself around Faye protectively as a mother would their child.

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 **Okay, so I'm going to try and update weekly or every second week but I won't make promises as I'm currently studying Nursing in uni.**

 **Thank you Psyche Castle, Cassy daughter of the Moon, Vanissa, AgentSylas, Call. Me .Random, yasminasfeir1 and ThePlotbunnyBreeder for your reviews!**

 **Also thank you to anyone who Followed and/or Favourited this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this. I hope you enjoyed.**

 **Anyone want to make a guess as to the entity that Faye reminds Rhea of? If someone can guess it I'll be very impressed. Thank you again for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I actually couldn't wait to get this chapter out. I really hope you like it.**

 **Also in the last chapter I stated Faye had been with Hestia for eleven months, I changed that to four as looking back that might have been a bit too long. And a friend pointed out that I could just leave it how it is and not to overthink everything with the time line, something I do very often so please ignore the previous statement about Thalia, and the timeline being messy...Again I'm super sorry for being such an absolute idiot!**

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Chapter Three

The day that everything came undone the sun shone down from the sky and it seemed to be the beginnings of a perfect day.

It was the 6th of March 1995, three days before Faye would turn five. Faye had been living with Hestia for nearly 12 months now as she had originally come into her care on April the 21st 1994. Since Rhea had met her, she had come to dinner at least once a week and was eager to care for Faye if Hestia was busy.

It was so strange, to be within a body that was not her own, to feel it changing and growing around her. Faye thought of her new body as a costume, another layer of skin that had been forced over her own and confined her real body within. Already Faye had grown a few inches and would soon be entering into her first year of schooling. A part of her dreaded that fact that she would have to interact with children and adults who wouldn't understand her maturity and way of thinking, while another part seemed to yearn for more human interaction that just Hestia and Rhea, the two women were very possessive of her time and seemed to dislike it when her attention strayed from them.

With the weather being so wonderful and warm after a cold winter, Hestia had decided to take Faye to a nearby park to have a small picnic. The two of them had decided to find a place that was more secluded and bordered on the tree line, away from the other people within the park. It was as they settled down on their large blanket and started talking, that Hestia had realised she had left their food in the car. For a moment Hestia was tempted to snap her fingers and teleport her forgotten items to her. Apologising to Faye she had gone off to get the food out of the car when it happened.

At first Faye thought she had imagined the glint of bronze that darted in the trees, when it occurred again her eyes narrowed and she had stood up and begun to walk away, not even bothering to gather up her things as she made her way back to the car where Hestia was. She was not comfortable with staying in the park anymore, it seemed as if the world around her had gotten a little darker and a little more dangerous.

Alarm bells had rung violently in her head and Fayes heart pounded when a loud screech reverberated around the park. She heard the crunch of her bones and the tearing of her skin before she felt it. Pain seared violently through her left shoulder and for a moment Fayes world spun on its axis. Her eyes widened and she felt her body go into shock, adrenaline pumped through her system and she hardly realised that she was screaming.

Her fingers trembled violently and she didn't dare look at her shoulder, Faye was no doctor and she had always been terrible with blood. A hissing sound filled the air and Faye felt her stomach churn as her stomach attempted to purge itself of any food she had recently eaten as her nostrils were filled with the stench of rotting flesh.

Faye whipped her head around and was met with the sight of two large bird like creatures. Her mind seemed to short circuit as she attempted to come up with plausible explanation for the creatures that stood before her. They were bronze in colour, their plumage had glinted like knives instead of feathers and they were larger than her, much larger. But, what drew her attention and caused a whimper to escape from her lips where their large curved beaks that were dipped in blood.

A buzzing filled the air and before the birds could move closer to her a silver arrow pierced cleanly through the throat of one the bird like monster. The other one didn't even have time to react before another arrow had pierced its throat. The two birds fell to the ground with thumps and Faye blinked in astonishment, the shock beginning to wear off as the pain within her shoulder seemed to throb to life with a vengeance.

"Are you alright little maiden?" A voice called out to her.

Faye tried to respond but it was as though someone had stuck her head underwater and filled her ears with cotton wool for the voice that called to her seemed very far away in Fayes opinion and her mouth refused to move. A figure of silver blurred in front of her eyes but Faye just couldn't seem to focus on anything, there was the green of the trees, the bronze of the birds and the silver of the woman, there was just too much colour for her to concentrate on.

Two warm hands had wrapped around her body as black dots swum in her vision. Faye new those warm hands, they were Hestias hands and she relaxed into them, trusting in the woman to care for her before falling into a blackness that she welcomed like an old friend.

* * *

Faye awoke within her bed and warm sunlight streamed through her window as if it were any other day. Her breath caught in her throat and her heart thudded in her chest as her eyes opened a little wider and she shot into a seated position.

Her fingers curled around her sheets and her teeth dug into her lip as she remembered the pain, the birds and the silver woman. Oh God what had she gotten herself into? Was she insane? Had being reincarnated into a childs body caused her to see things? Sometimes children would create monsters in the place of their attackers, as it was what their mind understood, maybe she had done that.

A loud gasp wrenched Faye from her reverie and she glanced to her right to see Hestia seated in a chair next to her bed. Her beautiful black curls were in such disarray that Faye was tempted to reach out and fix the poor womans hair. Hestias usually warm brown eyes were rimmed red from her apparent crying and her cheeks were pale and gaunt in comparison to their usual healthy pink.

"I'm so sorry." She whispered, a choked sob escaping the woman lips as large tears begun to role down her cheeks. "I'm so very sorry for not protecting you Faye."

"It's alright. I'm alright." Faye soothed and she reached for Hestia in an attempt to hug the woman before tightness in her left shoulder caused her to pull her arm back.

Faye looked down curiously at her left shoulder, which was covered by a pale grey shirt. Tentatively she pulled the shirt away from her shoulder with her right hand. A starburst like scar the size of a 50 cent coin is on her left shoulder, the only visible evidence of what had occurred that day.

Shock coursed through her body, shouldn't there be stitches or perhaps even a gauze over her wound. She knew or sure that whatever had pierced her shoulder had gone through bone so why did her bone feel intact. She should be in a hospital Faye thought and her eyebrows came together, eyes filled with questions as she looked towards Hestia. The woman was worrying her lip between her teeth and refused to meet Fayes eyes.

Before she could question Hestia the door to her room opened and Rhea glided in. The woman stopped and stared, taking all of her in before she moved quicker than Fayes eyes could track and gathered her up into a hug. Rhea pulled her close into her chest, as if she wouldn't notice the woman had begun to cry if she couldn't see her.

"We have so much to tell you dearest." Her voice came out thick and Faye couldn't keep a small smile off of her face as she relished in the love that she knew the two women in the room have for her.

Reluctantly Rhea let go of Faye and pulled up a seat that appeared from seemingly nowhere next to Hestia. Fayes eyes bulged out of her head as she took in what Rhea had done. Her mouth hung open before clicking shut quickly. With a deep breath Faye made herself comfortable, the psychologist within her knowing when to shut her mouth and listen and when to talk.

The explanation that followed was long and Faye truly didn't know how she wrapped her head around the fact that the Greek Gods within myths and legends and real and walk this Earth. During the explanation Hestia had looked ready to commit suicide when Faye had frowned slightly upon learning Hestia was a Goddess and had kept everything from her. Quickly Faye had reached out and captured the womans had in her own before lifting it up to her face height and kissing it, reassuring Hestia that she loved and accepted her no matter what she was and had hidden from her.

Hestia had given her a home, a family. Both her and Rhea had helped her find her sanity in a world that she would have surely lost herself within if she hadn't had the two women, she would never condemn them. Faye knew she would only ever feel love and admiration towards them.

Rhea had healed her, she was told. Though the scar would never fade she would not have any muscular or bone problems from the injury. The monstrous birds she found out, were Styphmalian birds that were being hunted by another Goddess, Artemis, and she had chased them into the area not caring for the mortals, Faye had just been collateral damage.

Hestias demeanour had become dark at the mention of the incident and when Rhea had spoken the name Artemis, she had hissed, eyes narrowed and lips twisted giving her usually angelic features a feral look. It appeared she blamed the young Goddess for herding the two birds into the park and was ready to extract retribution from her before Rhea had intervened.

Rhea herself was quite annoyed with her granddaughter who it seemed would¸ need a lesson in always being aware of her surroundings. Collateral damage was just not acceptable, especially when the collateral damage involved Faye.

Faye could hardly control her annoyance when she was told that the reason for her being injured her was due to lack of care of Artemis. What if another mortal had been injured? That mortal would not have had a Rhea to heal them and would have been dead. How could this Artemis be so narrow-minded? Was she an idiot or just plain stupid?

With much begging, Faye was eventually allowed to leave her bed and take a shower, letting the hot water run over her body as she tried to come to terms with the fact that there were truly Gods and Goddesses in the world, perhaps they were why she was here. Maybe the Gods had the answers she so longed for as to why she had been reincarnated. After her shower was done and she had dressed in a loose blue dress that didn't constrict her shoulder she took a deep calming breath. She was Faye Edwards, she had a Doctorate, PhD and Masters in psychology and she was a strong independent woman that wouldn't let a silly thing like Gods and monsters scare her.

When she stepped out into the lounge room she was slightly taken aback by the hostility that emanated from both Rhea and Hestia towards the pretty auburn haired girl. Decked in all silver, with a bow and quiver on her back and looking no more than twelve Faye knew without being told that the girl before her was Artemis.

"For the last time I said I was sorry. I didn't mean to-" Artemis said, her tone suggested that she was annoyed with the two other women in the room.

"If you're going to apologise to anyone it should be to me." Faye interrupted Artemis, her voice silencing the occupants of the room.

It seemed for a moment that Artemis was in shock, her mouth slightly agape, eyes wide and cheeks flushing furiously. She had never been interrupted, at least not by a mortal without serious retribution occurring. At Hestias warning glare Artemis wilted under the wrath of her fellow Goddess.

"Very well then young one, in recompense for the injury you gained by interrupting my hunt I shall allow you the generous gift of becoming one of my Hunters. My Hunters posses eternal youth and are maidens for life. It is an honour I assure you young mortal."

Artemis seemed very proud with her 'gift' to Faye and Faye was quite sure that the Goddess was mentally patting herself on the back. Faye was in no way amused with the offer and neither it seemed were Hestia or Rhea with the way the two seemed glare ferociously at Artemis. The women were possessive and in essence Artemis had just offered to take Faye away from them, they were not pleased.

Faye snorted loudly at the thought of receiving such an 'honour' and shook her head. The sound of laughter had soon filled the house as both Rhea and Hestia began to laugh at the idea. Artemis seemed to grow redder by the second, her silvery eyes taking on a glint and her eyebrows coming together to create a V.

"Artemis," Faye had begun, "while the offer may seem a great honour to you I have no desire or want to leave my family so I will have to have to decline your…gift."

Artemis didn't seem to quite understand what Faye had said as she raised her eyebrows quizzically at her. Faye smiled softly at the young goddess before she walked over to Hestia and engulfed her in a hug. Rhea watched on, a small smile gracing her features, all hostility towards Artemis forgotten at the scene that was taking place in front of her.

"My turn dearest."

Rhea had intervened, reaching out to take hold of Faye as both her and Hestia fawned over her. Artemis had never felt more overlooked in all of her many years. Who was this mortal girl that inspired such adoration from Hestia and Rhea. Curiously she had wandered over to the trio before seating herself onto the couch. The child didn't seem like much, rather short, if not chubby and very unremarkable. She held herself proudly and spoke with maturity but other than that there was nothing special about the child.

"May I stay here?" Artemis asked, and as soon as the words tumbled out of her mouth she wanted to retract them. "I don't mean forever, just for a while…I need some time on my own, my Hunters already know I've taken a few days off to hunt alone."

For a moment it seemed the whole room held their breaths. Rhea had tightened her hold on Faye as if she thought Artemis would steal the child away in the night and Faye had narrowed her eyes at the other Goddess. Hestia seemed to take in Artemis, seizing her up before she nodded, the whole room loosing its tension in a matter of seconds and Artemis breathed a sigh of relief.

"Fayes birthday is tomorrow, she's turning five and you can attend. If Faye is comfortable with you staying you are welcome in my home."

The words were like a bucket of icy cold water being dumped on Artemis' head. Hestia had never denied anyone within her family, yet here she was, claiming that if a small mortal child so wished it Artemis would be denied from Hestias home. Hestias home. When did Hestia call anything other than her temple on Mt Olympus her home? How had this mere mortal come to mean more to the Goddess of the hearth, home and family than her own flesh and blood?

"She can stay as long as she wants. It's not bother to me Hestia." Faye replied to the unspoken question that hung in the air as to whether or not she wanted Artemis within their home.

With those few words the matter was closed. The rest of the day was spent watching movies and relaxing within the garden. Artemis truly couldn't stop curiosity from filling her as she watched the way the three females interacted. It was as if Faye was the gravity that centred both Hestia and Rhea to the Earth, she was a missing piece to a puzzle that Artemis was sure had already been solved.

* * *

Fayes fifth birthday was a small event, the only guests being Hestia, Rhea and Artemis. Hestia had taken great joy filling the house with balloons and decorating the house in an array of colours. The birthdays Faye had in her last life were near distant memories to her; she had reached an age in her past life where it was no longer fun to celebrate your age. Faye spent the morning seated happily between both Rhea and Hestia while Artemis sat opposite them.

Faye knew the Goddess was analysing them, examining their interactions with clear interest. They had decided to cut the cake in the middle of the day and Faye had been awestruck when she saw the three-tiered sticky date flavoured cake that it had taken a poke to ribs via Hestia to bring her back to reality.

"Happy Birthday Faye." Hestia whispered in her ear, before she placed a small plain wooden box in Fayes hand.

Faye hadn't expected presents, a part of her hadn't even expected a cake. Her heart seized tight within her chest and she has to bite hard on her lower lip to bring her out of the emotional turmoil she is going through. She just can't fathom that this woman before her has kept her word, has cared for her and adored her like a daughter for nearly a year. Faye just cannot seem to comprehend the love that Hestia has given her. She thought she would go unnoticed within this world, that she would go back to being a psychologist and be done with the world, she hadn't gone looking friends and she certainly had not gone looking for a family, yet she had one.

Within the small wooden box lay a necklace. A glass pendant on a brown leather cord lay within the box and when she reached it up to look more closely at it she couldn't mask her sharp intake or air. The pendant, when looked upon closer had what appeared to be a fire within it. The fire wasn't dangerous though, she could feel it within her soul, it resonated with her, it was warm, comforting and home.

"So I can be with you at all times."

Hestia replied to Fayes unasked question before taking the necklace from her hands and tying it around her neck snuggly so it hung in the middle of her throat like a choker on display for all to see.

"Thank you Hestia, I really can't thank you enough." Faye said, before wrapping her arms around Hestia, attempting to convey her thanks through the simple gesture.

Rhea was quick to push Artemis to the side once Faye had let go of Hestia, thrusting a present wrapped in gold wrapping paper and adorned with red ribbons. The woman seemed to excited, an eager smile on her face as she leaned into Faye watching her facial expressions as she opened her present.

"Do you like it dearest?" She questioned, worry filling her voice. "If you don't I understand, they are rather boring in comparison to Hestias present."

Two books lay within the wrapping; one was bound in black leather and the other in red. Opening the black book Faye was filled with awe and very nearly broke down crying as she realised what was within it. In Rheas handwriting were detailed explanations of Greek myths and legends, though they weren't really myths if Faye was being truthful with herself. Below each page were footnotes explaining the words that she might not know and giving her details on the Gods, Goddesses, mortals and monsters within the pages. It was an incredible present and very personal which made it all the more important. While the book bound in red leather contained a detailed explanation of the creatures within the Greek myths and legends.

Faye couldn't seem to find the words needed to express her thanks, it was obvious that these books had taken time to write and that means that Rhea had been planning to give them to her before she knew the truth. It means that whether or not she knew the truth Rhea was going to make sure she was prepared for when the truth came out. It also means that Rhea cared enough about her to spend hours upon hours writing in books about the many myths and legends of Greek mythology and creatures within them.

"They're wonderful, thank you so much." She thanked Rhea profusely.

Hesitantly Artemis stepped towards the trio before presenting her present to Faye. It was long and wrapped in silver paper that shimmered like moonlight on water and Faye was sorely tempted to ask if Artemis had anymore. When she opened the present a gasp escaped her as she took in the present, it was silver and sleek with intricate carvings of the moon and wildlife, a bow made for a child sat within the silver wrapping paper. A leather quiver filled to the brim with arrows lay beside it, the fletching on the arrows were silver feathers that gleamed in the sunlight. Artemis shuffled nervously, her chin jutted outwards as Faye looked between her and the bow.

"If you don't like it you don't have to-"

"I love it." Faye cut off Artemis for the second time.

Artemis looked up quickly, locking eyes with Faye and Faye smiled back at her warmly. When asked about it years later Artemis would say that it was an accident, a mere trick of the light. For in that moment when Faye smiled at her warmly all Artemis could do in response was blush and avert her gaze. Artemis nearly jumped a metre in the air when a warm hand reached out and captured her own. Cheeks still red Artemis looked down at Faye, as she squeezed her hand and couldn't help returning the smile that was being given to her.

The two stayed hand in hand for a few minutes, their gazes locked, taking each other in for the first time since meeting each other, large smiles on their faces before the moment was broken by Artemis.

"Come on then Faye. I have to teach you how to actually use it still." She had said, a bossy tone entering her voice.

So, with their hands still interlocked, Artemis dragged Faye off out the back of the house, conjured practice range and begun to teach Faye how to shoot a bow. Faye was terrible to put it nicely. She was uncoordinated and had no upper body strength, her mind may have been quick but her body was not and Artemis was all too happy to tell her so. But, for all the joy that Artemis took in pointing out her fault she was quick to call an end to her lesson when she realised Faye was tiring.

Somehow after finishing the archery lesson the two ended up seated in the garden outside, flowers surrounding them, Rhea and Hestia seated off to the side watching with wide eyes and warm smiles.

Faye had originally thought that Artemis was very self-centred and a bit of a spoiled brat, thinking only of herself, but as she had begun to speak to the Goddess she had found her to be a very kind person that had trouble identifying her own emotions. It was as if Artemis wanted to express certain emotions and thoughts and had no idea how to so she expressed them through anger and annoyance. Artemis cared for her Hunters dearly, but she was overly possessive of them, she looked at them not as individuals but as her Hunters. Faye couldn't help but want to break her of that mindset, to make her see that each person, whether they were mortal or not were individual and unique in their own special way. Faye also wanted to break down Artemis' gender stereotypes. The fact that Artemis still thought that the majority of males within the world were horrible individuals annoyed Faye greatly. It didn't matter what gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age or race you were, everyone should be equal and Artemis, a divine being, didn't seem to understand such a simple concept. But, no matter her flaws Artemis was making a genuine effort to socialise and interact with her, so Faye wouldn't throw her kindness back in her face.

Faye may have been terrible at archery but she was an excellent flower crown creator and showed off her skills with all the pride and dignity she could muster. When she had placed a daisy crown upon Artemis' head the goddess had smiled so brightly at Faye that she was tempted to believe Artemis was the goddess of the sun.

It happened quickly and Faye was sure that she had forgotten how to breathe, when Artemis suddenly seemed to shrink in size. She changed from that of a twelve-year-old girl to one of approximately five or six. Her limbs becoming small, though her face kept its elfin like features and fine bone structure that most children lacked. Her auburn hair hung around her shoulders and her silver shirt and shorts shrunk along with her. Faye was in shock, her only response to Artemis' action was to blink in astonishment.

Artemis leaned forward, her mouth brushing the shell of Fayes ear. "I'm going to make sure you become one of my Hunters," she said conspiratorially.

Then, Artemis dragged Faye to her feet, tickling her before skipping away from her screaming that she was 'it'. A laugh bubbled from Faye, it sounded broken and hollow but slowly gained life she continued to laugh. Faye hasn't played such a childish game in years, but in that moment, with Hestia and Rhea off to the side watching her with bright smiles and Artemis laughing happily only a few metres from her she realises that this is what people beg for and dream of, she has a chance at a childhood once again, a chance to be ignorant to the darkness within world and selfishly Faye relished in that fact.

* * *

 **Thank you Kirei Ao Tori, ThePlotbunnyBreeder, Psyche Castle, yaminasfeir, Cassy daughter of the Moon and AgentSylas for your reviews! You guys are amazing! I hope that I did Artemis justice with her introduction to the story.**

 **Kirei Ao Tori you are right, the Moirai is a name for the Three Fates.**

 **Sorry ThePlotbunnyBreeder, they are not who Faye reminds Rhea of (though as you can see Faye has officially met Artemis now. I hope you liked her). Faye reminds Rhea of something/someone much older than those two :)**

 **Cassy daughter of the Moon, Thalia will still be turning into a tree, I've just sort of meddled with the timeline by changing the years a bit to suit me, as a friend pointed out that I could just leave it how it is and not to overthink, something I do very often so please ignore the previous statement about aging her, and the timeline being messy. I'm sorry for being such a complete idiot.**

 **AgentSylas, you are right! It is a primordial God/Goddess that she reminds Rhea of! I didn't really think anyone would think of them so well done for making a connection with them.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed and/or Favourited this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this. Also, if anyone would like to beta for me that would be amazing! If you haven't noticed I'm in desperate need for an editor of some sorts.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world. But, I do own Faye and this idea.**

* * *

Chapter Four

Faye decided on the first day of school that she hated it. In fact she loathed the idiocy of the people who worked in the school and attended. The older children took delight in the fear of those younger than them and the children that she was in classes with cried every time they fell over and whined constantly. The teachers were even worse in her opinion, they either treated her like she was an idiot, using 'baby' voices and belittled her or they looked at her as if she was an oddity, an alien among the other children for being so mature. Sometimes Faye didn't know which she preferred.

Faye had tried to be understanding of them but it was sometimes just too hard. When she had turned six she had laughed uncontrollably for a good five minutes when she added the years together and realised that she was now mentally sixty. She just didn't have the patience, she had been an old woman when she died, with hair flecked with grey and the beginnings of wrinkles on her face. It was just so hard to go back to schooling and be expected to do everything all over again, especially the boring subjects. Faye knew that as soon as possible she would apply for the early-exit exams otherwise she knew she would go truly insane.

Thankfully Faye hadn't encountered any more monsters since the event with the Styphmalian birds and was very content to keep it that way. Though her 'family' had gained another in the year since the event as Artemis had slowly wormed her way into her life. Artemis left her Hunters for nearly a week every month to spend entirely with Faye and had sworn to Faye that she would age her body along with Fayes, refusing to age or de-age when she was asked to.

Artemis had nearly thrown a fit when Faye had suggested that Artemis' Hunters could come to the house with her, the Goddesses face had gone from a pale white to a furious purple in mere seconds as she had loudly expressed her opinion on the subject. It had been an interesting conversation since Artemis refused to tell Faye why she would not allow her Hunters and Faye to meet which had lead to Faye refusing to talk the Goddess until she chose to speak in a calm manner and not scream her sentiments to the world. Artemis had lasted an hour in annoyed silence before she had begged Faye to drop the subject and forgive her. Faye had agreed as long as Artemis told her why she would not allow for Faye and her Hunters to meet by the end of the month.

Artemis was as stubborn as a mule and prideful to a point, two things that Faye was quick to inform her of. There were no lies between the two of them, no faked pleasantries. Faye was quick to speak her mind and opinions and to question Artemis' judgement, which had originally left her in a state of stupor. Artemis was used to being worshipped by those around her like the Goddess she was, Faye refused to do any such thing, Artemis was her friend and would be treated as such. They were equal in her mind and it seemed that slowly Artemis had begun to realise that as over the last year as she made suggestions to Faye instead of attempting to order her around. It was a welcome change of attitude.

Thus, when Faye had begun her school year she was quite sure she would be able to handle the children, for they surely couldn't be more bratty than Artemis. Faye had been proven wrong within the first few weeks. She had been enrolled in a Private School that was well known for its' accelerated curriculum, the classes were small with only fifteen children in each homeroom. A required uniform that consisted of a plain white button up shirt, navy blue tie, knee high white socks and a navy blue plaid skirt made Faye feel like she was dressing up to appear in a schoolgirl fetish porno. Faye had realised after the first spit-ball that she was most likely going to be tried for murder before the semester was finished if she didn't keep control of her temper. Thankfully her cold demeanour and sharp tongue had kept away the other children.

During lunch times Faye had claimed one of the many trees within the playground as her own, sitting under it each day and studying and keeping to herself, not initiating any conversations, this tactic kept even the older children away from her and so far she had yet to be bothered. One lunch she had calmly begun to walk over to her tree when a large figure fell onto the ground in front of her, obstructing her way.

Two boys it seemed had pushed another onto the ground rather violently and were refusing to let him up. The aggressors it appeared were older than her, perhaps in grade two or three and stood over the other boy menacingly, one was rather tall and lanky, with buckteeth while the other had beady eyes and blonde hair that curled around his temples. On closer inspection Faye realised that the boy on the ground was one of the children within her homeroom, Butch. A rather quiet boy who was slightly overweight with pale blonde hair, she vaguely remembered overhearing one of the teachers mentioning he had ADHD and a learning disability, dyslexia or dysgraphia, she wasn't sure.

"God you're so stupid fatty." The blonde boy had said, smirking down at poor Butch.

It was in that moment a part of Faye snapped, bile churned in her stomach as she watched the poor boy try to defend himself, she walked towards the older boys, anger building like a fire in her gut.

"Stop." She said, her voice cold and low, Faye refused to raise her voice towards such utter imbeciles.

The two older boys had turned around, their wide eyes portraying that they had never been told to stop by a bystander before. Faye frowned, her eyes narrowing into slits as the boys continued to stand and stare at her, their mouths agape and eyes wide with shock. Perhaps it was the fact that she was half their size and obviously much younger than them, or maybe it was the fact that she was female that they seemed so stunned.

"Please move out of my way." Faye said as she closed the gap between them, standing only a foot away from them.

A long time ago Faye had realised you didn't need to be taller than someone to look down on them, you just had to have the right attitude. Faye knew she had the right attitude. She had spent a large part of her previous life looking down on people during her schooling years. Faye hated to admit it but at one point in her life she had been the bully, she had been the 'head bitch' as people had so lovingly put it. She had been in charge though she had grown out of her horrible habits and terrible ways after she turned seventeen, but, right then, in her new body, she couldn't seem to control her urge to want to be the 'head bitch' again, to make those boys fear her.

"What the heck? Who are you?" The one with buckteeth asked, his voice coming out in a whine, which retracted from his attempt to appear menacing towards her.

Faye nearly laughed in the boys face at his attempt to appear threatening. Teenage girls who bitched behind each other backs and fought with rumours, lies, deceit and fake smiles were what she feared. Not some little boys who had decided that they could try to push her around.

"My name is Faye Edwards, but I assume you were asking a rhetorical question. As I have no wish to know your names I won't ask for them, instead I'll ask for you to please move out of my way, again."

A smile had twisted its' way onto her lips, and Faye stood tall, shoulders back and chin high. Boys fought with their fists, putting their anger and heart into their blows. Girls fought with their twisted words and conniving nature, they held grudges and broke their opponent emotionally, physically and mentally. Faye was not proud of the way she had acted in her youth; perhaps her being reincarnated had intended her to learn from her past mistakes, but a part of her relished in the fact that she had played this game before, that she knew how to bend the rules to suit her.

"You can't tell us what –"

Faye had tutted loudly and waggled her finger in front of the blonde boy in his attempt to turn the tables, to once again gain control. He obviously didn't know when to shut up and leave.

"Please, before you finish that sentence, think. Use some common sense. I am a little girl; you are two older boys who are bullying another student. Believe me when I say that the teachers are going to believe my word over yours any day of the week. So, I'll once again ask, would you please move out of the way?"

Both boys seemed to contemplate her words before they had turned around and left without another word, both of them glaring in anger at her. For a moment Faye savoured the feeling of control, relished in the fact that she was in charge before it had hit her like a tone of bricks what she had done. She was meant to be mature, she was a sixty-year-old woman, and she was not some petty brat who let her emotions control her. Moreover, those boys would come back again, maybe even with friends, they might take their anger towards her out on poor Butch and Faye knew that some boys didn't mind hitting girls. Words weren't going to always save her. Her gut churned violently, she had threatened those boys, they couldn't have been older than seven or eight and she had threatened them, with a teacher no less. Gods she was a horrible person.

"Thank you." A voice quietly said.

Faye was broken out of her reverie at those words and she looked down at Butch, focusing her attention on the boy. Snot was running down his nose and his eyes were rimmed with red from crying. He was in no way a pretty sight. With a sigh Faye squatted down next to the boy, twisting strands of her hair between her fingers anxiously. Faye scrutinised the boy, with his blonde hair that was so pale it could have been white and lilac coloured eyes he had very unique features. The only thing that detracted from his appearance was his current weight. He seemed to look at her with something akin to awe and fear, as if he was afraid she would lash out at him at any second.

Another heavy sigh escaped Fayes lips as she rubbed her eyebrows with her forefinger and thumb, an odd habit she had picked up from her mother. Rubbing ones eyes caused wrinkles, her mother had told her and she had been quick to never do so again.

"Come on then, up we get." She told Butch, standing up and stretching out her hand towards the boy.

Timidly he had reached out and taken her hand allowing for her to wrench him into a standing position. Faye brushed Butch off, wiping his nose with the sleeve of her jumper and cleaning his cheeks with her thumbs, gathering his tears and brushing them away. Faye ignored the way Butch jerked away from her as if her hands were on fire when she began to straighten out his shirt and shorts without asking fro permission.

"There now, all better." She told him, a smile graced her features as she looked up at the taller boy. "Now, come along."

With a tug on his hand she dragged Butch over to her usual spot under her tree, sitting down comfortably on the ground and gesturing for Butch to do the same. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, Faye had opened her lunch box and had begun to eat when she realised Butch hadn't stopped staring at her, his mouth slightly agape like a goldfish. Staring back at him Faye had raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"Why did you help me?" Butch asked, his voice soft as he finally broke eye contact with Faye.

Faye hummed to herself, attempting to figure out how to answer his question.

"Because no one deserves to be bullied and I won't become some bystander who ignores another person in pain."

Faye nearly slapped herself in the forehead when she realised what she had said, Butch wasn't Artemis, he wasn't someone who would understand the implication behind her words and he certainly would not be as understanding of her mature words. She had to remind herself that she was speaking to a child of six, not a Goddess who appeared to be a child. It was moments like this that Faye realised what a blessing Artemis was to her, she listened to Faye and accepted Faye for who she was, only ever asking for acceptance in return.

"Thank you, for standing up for me, no one's ever stood up for me before." Butch said quickly, his cheeks becoming a flaming red as Faye stared at him, inspecting him.

Faye realised then that she wasn't going to get rid of the boy very easily, she was already becoming attached, Butch had stirred her maternal instincts and by the Gods she wasn't going to be able to stop looking after this boy. He was lost and insecure, Butch didn't seem to know his own worth if the way he refused to look her in the eye was any indication. Faye was going to change that.

"Well then, expect to be defended more. Now, how about we introduce ourselves properly. I'm Faye, Faye Edwards." Faye told him, sticking out her hand towards him.

Butch had shaken her hand awkwardly, his eyes on the ground he worried his lower lip between his teeth, cheeks aflame, Faye felt the need to just grab the boy and hold him, to comfort him and tell him that he shouldn't let what the other boys had said get to him, that he was worth something, that he wasn't a freak and certainly wasn't stupid.

"I'm Butch Walker." Butchs voice was so quiet Faye could barely hear it as he muttered under his breath.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Butch. Now, next time you introduce yourself don't mutter under your breath and meet the other persons' eyes with confidence. You should be proud of who you are, never let anyone tell you differently." Faye said, her voice commanding him to acknowledge her.

With reluctance Butch looked up at, their eyes meeting and Faye smiled softly at him, making sure her posture was open and reassuring. Slowly but surely a small smile had found it's way onto Butchs face, and he held onto her hand with a strength she didn't think the boy possessed. Faye realised then that her plans for school life had drastically changed, she no longer wanted to leave as quickly as possible, she wanted to stay and protect the boy in front of her, to nurture him and help him grow.

It was the start of a beautiful friendship.

* * *

Faye had begged Rhea to let her go out that weekend, she wanted to walk around and explore America. Faye had originally been born in Australia so she was eager to see the country she would now call her home. She had been an avid traveller before her reincarnation and had travelled to the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe, but never America. It was a new experience that she welcomed, she wanted to see the word again through these new eyes, she wanted to experience the wonders of the world again.

Rhea had begrudgingly agreed to take Faye around New York, extracting a promise from Faye to not leave her sight at any given moment and to stay within an arms reach of her. Faye had agreed, laughing at Rheas overprotectiveness. She reassured the woman that she would be fine and that all she wanted to do was see some of the sights and explore a little, nothing too exciting.

Unfortunately, Faye was a terrible explorer, as she soon realised that while walking with Rhea around the streets of New York she had gotten lost. She had seen a shop that looked interesting and had walked over to it, but when she had turned around to inform Rhea that she wanted to enter it she had realised that Rhea wasn't beside her. Faye had felt as if someone had injected ice into her veins as she went rigid with the realisation she couldn't see Rhea anywhere. She had bitten back a swear as she realised that she was lost within New York city and had no way of contacting Rhea as to where she was even if she did walk into a shop and ask to use their phone as Rhea didn't carry a mobile.

Faye turned around and began to walk back the way she had come, hoping that Rhea was only a little bit behind her and just out of sight. Faye craned her neck from left to right trying to catch a sight of Rhea and in desperation called her name loudly three times. When she didn't respond Faye slumped despondently, frustrated in herself for walking away from Rhea. She hadn't thought and now she was paying for her mistake.

The streets of New York were crowded and Faye did not want to stay on them, knowing that she would most likely get swept up in the hoard of people and be moved even further from where Rhea could possibly be. Reminding herself that Rhea probably had some divine way of finding her if she stayed in one spot Faye surveyed the shops before her trying to figure out which one would be more child friendly. Eventually her eyes landed on a bright rainbow coloured sign that proclaimed itself to be called ' _Rainbow Organic Foods & Lifestyles_'. R.O.F.L, how ingenious she thought dryly and couldn't stop her eyebrows rising at the sight.

Cautiously she walked into the store, taking in the large bins of dried fruits and nuts, baskets of apples proclaiming they were 'organic' and clothing racks of tied-dyed shirts and gauzy fairy costumes. It was definitely a sight to behold, though Faye soon found herself drawn to the numerous wind-charms and dream-catchers. As she walked over to them she looked around the store and frowned noticing that there were no customers or workers within sight.

A small dream-catcher the size of an adult's hand hung from a hook on the wall. It was clearly old, made of different shades of brown leather and turquoise coloured beads were strung through it. Cream coloured feathers that had most likely been white once and had clearly seen better days. The feathers hung from the leather tassels on the bottom of the dream-catcher giving it a haunting look.

Faye felt a lump form in her throat and she saw the dream-catcher when it was first bought; the leathers still new, the feathers white and the beads polished. She saw small hands encircle around the dream-catcher and a smile so brilliant it could light up the world at being given such a gift. Faye was reminded of blue eyes the colour of those turquoise beads that had looked at her with so much love and trust that it had hurt and recoiled back violently from the dream-catcher on the wall as if it had burned her. Faye wanted to leave, she needed to forget whatever she had remembered and get the hell away from the dream-catcher.

"Are you alright?" An airy voice asked her and Faye had spun around, her heart racing and bile rising in her throat.

A woman with the most unique features she had ever seen stood before her and Faye was sure in that moment that the woman before her was a Goddess. With olive-coloured skin, pale white blonde hair that seemed to shimmer different colours when the light hit it and bright purple eyes that flashed different colours periodically Faye was unable to take her eyes off of her. She tilted her head to the side as if considering her own question and smiled at Faye with only one side of her mouth her curiosity palpable.

"I don't know." Faye replied shakily, her hands trembling.

The womans mouth turned downwards into a frown as she took in Fayes dishevelled appearance. Cautiously, she crouched down to Fayes height, as if to prevent her from being scared and took in her dishevelled appearance.

"Are you lost?"

Up close Faye was able to see how fine the womans features were, she would have made a wonderful model with her delicate bone structure, though the garishly bright tie-dyed shirt and ripped shorts did little to show that. Taking a deep breath Faye closed her eyes and counted to ten in an attempt to stop the panic attack she was beginning to get. Eventually she opened her eyes, no longer trembling and breathing normally once more she stared back confidently at the Goddess before her.

"Yes, I walked away for a moment and got lost. Is it alright if I stay here until they come find me?"

The Goddess had begun nodding as soon as the question had passed her lips and had stood up, her lopsided smile once again finding its way onto her face. The shop had seemed to come to life while she had been asking Faye questions, and the crystals that lined the shops walls seemed to glint more brightly than they had when she had first walked in and the smell of apple and cinnamon wafted through the room.

"Come on then, I have organic apple and cinnamon gluten free muffins ready for you to eat while we wait. I'm Iris by the way. What's your name?"

Iris seemed to fire off questions as if they were bullets from a revolver, her airy light voice making it all quite comical in Fayes opinion and she couldn't help the giggle that had slipped from between her lips. At that Iris reached her hand over and ruffled Fayes hair in response happily.

"I'm Faye, Faye Edwards and it is a pleasure to meet you Miss Iris. I'd also love to try your muffins." She replied unable to control the happiness that radiated from her.

Iris had snorted loudly when Faye had called her 'Miss' and had been happy to correct the girl. Faye soon realised that Iris was very much like an eccentric aunt, changing topics quicker than fashion trends and was happy to fill the silence with her chatter. The muffins she had made were divine, the perfect amount of apple and cinnamon with a hint of honey and she had extracted a promise from the Goddess to teach her how to make them one day. She had been completely inundated with tea, trying chamomile, apple, hibiscus and many more that she had forgotten the names of.

The sound of the door opening violently startled both Iris and Faye and the two nearly fell off of the counter that they had both balanced themselves on. Rhea stood within the door of the shop, her hair had fallen out of the bun she had placed it in that morning, strands sticking everywhere, her eyes were glassy and her face was a blotchy red. For a moment Faye had trouble realising the woman before her was the powerful and confident Rhea that she saw every week.

A wail escaped Rheas lips and she launched herself across the room at Faye, wrapping her up into her arms and squashing her to her chest violently. She held onto her as if she was her lifeline, as if Faye was the gravity that tied her to the Earth and Faye stilled within Rheas arms when she heard the woman sob into her hair. Faye wrapped her arms around the woman comforting her. Faye felt tears swell in her eyes and she began to mumble incoherently how sorry she was for causing Rhea such distress. How sorry she was that she had walked away from Rhea even though she had promised no to, she apologised continuously until Rhea finally pulled back looking like a completely different woman than the one that had entered the store a few minutes ago.

Rheas hair was once again pulled back into a neat bun, her face had lost its redness and her eyes were once again bright and warm though her bright red lips were twisted in a snarl as she focused upon Iris who was still sitting awkwardly upon the counter, swinging her legs back and forward with agitation.

"I'm sorry for not telling you she was here Lady Rhea, I didn't even know you were the one she was with until you came in. I'm so sorry Lady Rhea, please don't punish me." Iris blurted out quickly, her head falling forward and lower lip jutting out.

Faye reached up and tugged a lock of Rheas hair that framed her face causing the Goddess to focus on her. Rheas face seemed to change sporadically, her features softening and eyes becoming more forgiving and kind.

"She didn't know Rhea, don't be angry at Iris, it won't change anything. If you want to be angry at anyone be angry at me. Iris was looking after me, she made sure I didn't get hurt." Faye told Rhea firmly, refusing to break eye contact with her until she sighed heavily and looked away, once again focusing her attentions onto Iris.

"Well, I believe that is understandable given the circumstances that I forgive you for not informing of Fayes location Iris." Rhea said, her voice strong and commanding.

Iris seemed to deflate like a balloon, all the tension leaving her body. Her eyes widened as she took in the protective way Rhea was holding Faye and how the older deity seemed to wrap her aura around the young mortal like a dog marking their territory. Curiously Iris had tilted her head to the side trying to figure out the connection between the two, it was clear that Faye didn't have a drop of divine blood, she was as mortal as they came. Perhaps she had the ability to see through the mist. All Iris knew was that she had never heard the name Faye Edwards mentioned by Rhea at all and that it was quite the feat for anyone to hide a secret from Iris since she was one of the messengers of the Gods.

"Thank you for your forgiveness Lady Rhea, your mercy is much appreciated." Iris replied as she slipped off the counter to stand before Rhea and Faye.

The difference between Rhea and Iris was incredible. Rhea practically radiated power and confidence, her clothing refined and rich in colour, while Iris appeared rather lost with her casual clothing and air of uncertainty. Rhea was taller than Iris and looked down at her with such superiority that for a moment Faye wanted to slap her for looking down upon her new friend, but she quashed said feeling quickly, snuffing it out.

"Do you think Faye could come visit me sometimes? I promised I would teach her how to make my apple and cinnamon muffins." Iris asked tentatively, unsure as to how Rhea would react to her question.

"If Faye wishes too and Hestia allows it then I am not opposed to the idea. Now we should be off." Rhea told Iris curtly before she could get another word in, her bewilderment clear on her face.

As Rhea began to walk out of the store Faye squirmed out of Rheas hold and ran back to Iris, wrapping her arms tightly around her legs. Iris nearly fell over as Faye barrelled into her and kept her balance through sheer force of will, her lopsided smile finding its way onto her face once more and head tilting to the side.

"Thank you Iris, I'll be sure to be back soon. I can't wait to learn how to make those muffins." Faye told her, face up turned so that Iris could see the cheeky smile that adorned her lips.

With a wink towards Iris and a small wave Faye hurried over to Rhea taking the hand that she held out to her quickly. Turning around as the exited the shop Faye smiled at Iris who wiggled her fingers at her. A sense of calm came over Faye as they left the shop, for a moment she felt as if she had forgotten something important, something that was an essential part of who she was but she dismissed the feeling quickly, pressing herself into Rheas side.

"Now, Dearest I need you to promise me something." Rhea broke the silence suddenly, tightening her hold on Fayes hand as if worried she would disappear once again from her sight.

"Anything." Faye had responded sagely looking up at Rhea and squeezing her hand in reassurance.

Rheas face was tight, her eyes filled with worry and her whole posture screamed apprehension. Faye felt a sense of worry hit her as she took in Rheas appearance, what could possibly have the woman so worried about asking her?

"Don't tell Hestia I lost you." Rhea begged, a hint of hysteria entering her voice as her mind raced through Hestias reaction to her loosing her daughter within New York City.

A responding laugh was her only answer as Faye doubled over with laughter, her hand tightening around Rheas enough to probably cut off circulation as relief overflowed within her. Rhea stared at her as if Faye had gone insane for a few moments before a giggle escaped her lips, her mouth curling in a beautiful smile.

* * *

 **Thank you ThePlotbunnyBreeder, Psyche Castle, yasminasfeir1, AgentSylas, Guest, Cassy daughter of the Moon and Lady Sydra for your reviews! You guys are amazing! Any guesses as to who Faye might meet next? Also, as you can all probably tell I'm in dire need of an editor/beta-reader so if you are good at editing and are willing to read through all my mistakes let me know.**

 **I'm sorry for changing Iris' appearance, but the Gods have the ability to appear how they choose and I thought the Goddess of Rainbows deserved a little bit of colour…sorry if this annoys anyone.**

 **ThePlotbunnyBreeder: Faye currently identifies as heterosexual if that's what your wondering but I'm leaving pairings pretty open for now. In fact I'd love to hear other opinions on who you'd ship her with :) Thank you by the way, I was very worried I wouldn't do her justice. I hope you like how Iris and Butch are portrayed.**

 **AgentSylas: That's awesome! Awwww thank you, I was so worried with how I am I portraying her. I'm trying to show that while Artemis is a very smart and mature Goddess she has her moments where she acts like a brat and is very possessive of her 'things'. I mean in nearly all the myths surrounding Artemis and her Hunters she is very possessive of them.**

 **Cassy daughter of the Moon: Artemis is going to definitely be a constant in Fayes life, I don't know whether she'll be meeting Apollo or the Hunters just yet. Artemis, in my opinion, is a very possessive character, look at how she acts with her brother around her Hunters. Trust me when I say when Apollo and Faye meet, Artemis will become very territorial. Eventually Faye may call Hestia and Rhea things like Mum and Grandma etc., but it's going to take a while. She's a sixty-year-old woman currently, she died when she was 54 so it's a bit hard for her to verbally call Hestia her Mum, she can think it and feel it, but she can't verbalise it just yet.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I am so sorry for the delay in this chapter I was recently on placement at a hospital for my nursing degree and the next few might be a little late too since life is getting a little hectic due to university exams and assessments. I will definitely try to get the next. I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Five

It was a Monday and Hestia had excused Faye from school for a few days since Artemis had arrived that morning for her monthly visit. The two of them had quickly found themselves in the backyard soaking up the sun. Artemis had been quick to lay down, her head resting comfortably in Fayes lap. Her eyes were closed, lips upturned and her facial features were the most relaxed Faye had ever seen them as she ran her fingers through Artemis' auburn hair, making little plaits whenever she felt bored.

"You need to stop avoiding my question Artemis." Faye whispered, braking the comfortable silence between them.

"I wouldn't have to keep avoiding it if you would stop asking." Artemis groaned, her brow scrunching together slightly as she turned her face to the side, eyes still closed.

Faye frowned as her annoyance with her friend grew and poked Artemis sharply in her cheek to gain her attention. Turning her face upwards, her eyes opened, nose scrunched up in annoyance and she batted Fayes finger away from her face gently. Faye refused to stop annoying the Goddess, beginning to poke her again as soon as she had closed her eyes once again.

Eventually Artemis had groaned and reached up, wrapping Fayes hand in her own in a tight grip refusing to let go. When Faye had looked down she noticed Artemis did not look happy, in fact she looked incredibly worried. For a moment she considered not pushing Artemis into telling her why she refused to let her meet her Hunters, perhaps they could ignore the fact that Artemis bristled like a cat about to be thrown into a bucket of water whenever Faye mentioned Butch.

But, Faye knew deep down she couldn't ignore it. She couldn't ignore the way that Artemis clenched her hands and gritted her teeth when Faye had said that she had made a new friend at school. Something was wrong with Artemis and Faye wasn't going to let her friend suffer in silence.

"Artemis, please." She begged, entwining her fingers between Artemis' hand that was holding hers.

"Why do you have to know? It's not important." Artemis huffed.

Artemis sat up, removing her hand from Fayes and moved to sit across from her, arms crossed across her chest. Faye sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the scent of freshly cut grass calming herself before she reached out for Artemis, taking both of her hands in hers, gently rubbing circles on the top of Artemis' hands to calm her.

"It is if you're angry."

Before Faye had a chance to push Artemis further she had reached and pulled Faye close until their foreheads touched making sure that their eyes met. It was as if the two were in their own bubble, as if they were the only two people in the world. Faye couldn't seem to break eye contact with Artemis, her silver eyes staring into her very soul as if they could decipher all of her secrets. Her gut twisted and churned like an eel as worry filled her. What if Artemis was angry with her? What if she had done something to the Goddess that was unforgivable and she just hadn't noticed?

"I'm not angry at you." Artemis said, enunciating each of her words. "Do you understand me Faye, I am not angry at you."

Artemis seemed to want to make sure that Faye understood her and gave her a little shake as if that would get her words through to her friend. Faye had let out a sigh of relief at the Artemis' words and the tension that had thrummed through her body left. Mentally she chided herself for being so caught up in her emotions that she hadn't noticed Artemis was not directing her anger and frustration at her, she was meant to be better than that, she was meant to be able to decipher the emotions of others around her and keep her cool, not be sent into an emotional whirlwind the moment her friend had a problem.

"Then tell me what the prob –"

"You are my only friend Faye and I don't want to share you! I don't want you to replace me. I don't want them to steal you away from me." Artemis hissed, cutting Faye off quickly, anger contorting the Goddesses face at the mere thought of such things.

"But you share me with Rhea and Hestia, sharing is a part of life. Besides Artemis, I don't replace people and I can't replace you because there is no one else in the entire universe like you. And I'll have you know that I can't be stolen away. I am my own person." Faye said gently, trying to calm Artemis, tightening her hold on Artemis' hands, reassuring her as much as she could that she was important, that she was special and so very much wanted.

"Hestia is your mother in every sense of the word and Rhea is your grandmother more than she's mine. It's different sharing with them, they're your family not your friends. What if you like my Hunters and this stupid mortal more than you like me?"

Artemis couldn't seem to meet her eyes any longer, glancing down at the ground, her shoulder hunched. It was as if she was trying to disappear. Faye had felt her heart swell in her chest and she clenched her teeth as the realisation that Artemis was not juts being possessive and jealous, but was genuinely worried about loosing her.

"Artemis, you are my first friend in this life. You are my best friend. No one will ever take your place do you understand? You are so important to me and I am not going to leave you." She told the Goddess firmly, leaning in close to her.

Artemis' head shot up quickly, her mouth slightly agape as she stared in wonder at Faye. The Goddess tilted her head to the side, as if she was unable to comprehend the words that had come out Fayes' mouth.

"Best friend?" Artemis questioned, her voice soft as she shifted nervously from side to side.

Faye couldn't help the soft smile that found its way onto her face at Artemis' question. Faye adored Artemis, she felt comfortable with Artemis, more comfortable than she had with anyone even in her past life and she cherished Artemis for all of her faults. Artemis made Faye smile even when she felt as if the world around her was slowly crumbling and she was going insane, Artemis brought out the best in her even though she could annoy her to death sometimes. Faye had found that she could breathe a little easier every time Artemis arrived, so Faye knew without a doubt she was happy to call Artemis her best friend.

"Yes, my best friend."

"What's a best friend?" Artemis whispered the question so softly that Faye wasn't sure she had heard her correctly at first.

It had dawned on Faye then that Artemis had never, in her very long life, had a best friend, had someone who she could trust with anything and be accepted and cherished by no matter her faults and actions. Artemis had her Hunters, a group of women who revered her and worshipped the very ground she walked upon. Artemis had a twin brother, who seemed to drive wedge after wedge between the two of them, something that Faye was sure Artemis had attributed to as well. Artemis had a mother who she wanted to make proud and refused to admit her faults to. Artemis had a broken family that was made up of back-stabbing immortals that didn't understand how much pain they put each other through and refused to acknowledge their own mistakes. It broke Fayes heart to know that the woman before her was probably more broken and alone in this new world than she was, that Artemis had never experienced the absolute wonder of having a person who you knew loved you unconditionally without being bound to you by blood.

"A best friend is someone who loves and accepts you no matter your faults. They're someone who you would trust with your life. They're the person who will always be there fro you whether you want them to be there or not."

Without a thought Faye had reached out to Artemis and enveloped her into her arms, wanting to convey to Artemis all the love that she had grown to have for her. Artemis wrapped her arms around Faye tightly as if the other girl was the gravity that tethered her to the Earth and squeezed her tightly, not quite knowing how to react to the girl in her arms that had wormed her way into her very soul. Faye had given Artemis something she had never had; someone who she knew she would love unconditionally and knew would love her back no matter her faults.

"Faye," Artemis whispered gently into Fayes ear, "you're my best friend too."

* * *

The sky was a dark grey and thunder rumbled low as rain began to fall. The rain smelled clean and fresh and Faye had taken deep breaths, breathing in one of her favourite scents in the world. For some reason Faye had always loved the smell of rain, she remembered once, in a life long ago, she had sat out in the rain for hours, soaking herself to the bone just to breathe in the heavenly scent. Hestia had gone out for a few hours to visit one of her siblings leaving Faye alone at home.

Faye was curled up on the couch with a large mug of tea when she had felt a strong hard tug within her gut. It was as if a part of her was being wrenched from her very being and she hunched over, the cup of tea falling from her hand and spilling across the floor. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt as if her entire body was being constricted. It was as if a string had been tied around her waist and she was being dragged out of the house, her feet moving at their own accord.

Why had she agreed to stay when she had found out that Greek mythology and legends were real? Was she stupid or just desperate for the love she received from her disjointed family? But as hard as she tried, Faye couldn't muster within her the energy to feel any regret at her situation because she loves her unconventional family. She loves every hour, every minute, every second she has with them and if some horrible monster is dragging her to her doom so be it.

The rain seemed to soak into her very soul, chilling her to the bone. The tugging sensation had begun to dissipate and for a moment Faye considered running back to the house and its' safe confines, calling Hestia and getting the hell away from whatever creature has magically dragged her out into a storm.

"How curious?"

The voice that speaks is like velvet, soft and smooth yet there is a dangerous undertone to it that makes Faye shiver. A woman was standing before her, untouched by the rain. She was stunning, of that Faye was certain, with long blonde locks pulled up into a high ponytail and black eyes that seemed to see into Fayes very soul. The woman in question wore a stylish sleeveless black dress that clung to the womans curves like a second skin, falling to the ground and covering her feet making it appear as if she was floating.

"Excuse me?" Faye asked, her anger palpable in her voice.

Who did this Goddess though she was dragging Faye out into the rain? Did she have any sense of propriety? Obviously none of the Gods had ever been taught manners except for Hestia, Faye would be mentioning that they all needed a lesson on appropriate etiquette to Rhea when she saw her again. Faye steeled herself as she glared at the Goddess, becoming fearful in such a situation would only make it worse, her best course of action was to show strength and hope that she amused the deity enough for her to not smite her.

"You know there is a residual of magic upon your soul." The Goddess had purred, a smirk that heavily reminded Faye of a cat that had just caught its prey adorning her face.

"What?" Faye exclaimed loudly, nothing seemed to compute within her brain as she tried to comprehend what had just been said. Magic. There was magic on her soul. How did that even work?

"Now, now, use your words. A woman of your age shouldn't act like a child." The Goddess had said condescendingly as she had reached out to play with a few strands of Fayes hair.

It was as if Fayes brain had short circuited at those words, her mouth falling open as a million thoughts ran through her head. Her mind becoming numb to everything.

"...You know."

A dry laugh escaped the Goddess and she sighed, as if disappointed with Faye. As if Faye wasn't living up to her expectations. The Goddess dropped the strands of Fayes hair that she had been playing with, her long nails tracing Fayes jawline as she stared into her eyes a smirk gracing her blood red lips.

"Of course I know. My magic was used to bring you here."

Faye felt as if she was going to throw up, her stomach churning violently, the Goddess before her had knowledge of her rebirth and most likely the knowledge of why she had been reborn. The Goddess before her was the one who had brought he into this world and all Faye wanted to do was rip the Goddesses soul seeing eyes out of her sockets and claw off her smirk that taunted her.

"So you brought me here then. Why would you do that? What use am I to you?" Faye had practically spat, anger palpable in her voice.

Attempting to calm herself she thought back to the books Rhea had written for her and tried to connect the Goddess before her with one that she had read about. The only deity that she could remember using magic was Hecate. Hecate, the goddess of magic, crossroads, the Mist and necromancy. If the Goddess before her was Hecate then Faye was screwed. Hecate was not a Goddess to be taken lightly and yelling at a Goddess such as Hecate was not a good idea. Faye was barely able to contain her cringe as she begun to realise what she had done.

"Please do shut up. Did I ever say that I brought you here? No, you impudent fool, I told you my magic brought you here. Not that I did. I was not was not a willing participant. In fact I would happily wring the neck of the old hags that I brought you here. They stole my magic from me to bring you here." Hecate had hissed and her eyes narrowing dangerously.

Faye was unable to keep the surprise from her face as she took in Hecates words. The Goddess was not to blame for her reincarnation, some stupid old hags were, and if Faye ever met them she was going to have a few choice words with them.

"The old hags?" Faye questioned Hecate, confusion filling her features as she tried to think back to any hags within her book.

Hecates face morphed back into amusement at Fayes confusion, taking delight in the wide eyed and open mouthed look that graced the mortals face. A trill of laughter escaped the Goddesses and her lips twisted into a macabre smirk before she had reached out towards Faye and tapped her nose gently with her fingernail. Faye had gasped loudly and shivered, fearful as to what the Goddess might do next. Would she turn her into a pig like her daughter did to Odysseus' crew? Faye didn't think she'd make a good pig, perhaps a she could beg the Goddess to turn her into a cat instead.

"The Moirai. Though you might know them as the Three Fates."

The Fates. The Three Fates had reincarnated her and stuck her in a world where Gods and monsters ran wild. Just perfect. It was just what Faye had wanted when she had kicked the bucket. Yet, even though she now had a name to the culprits who had given her a second chance at life she still didn't know why and to Faye, the why was much more important that the who.

"Why would they want me here?"

"Isn't that the million dollar question." Hecate responded, before her smirk twisted into a slight grimace as she caught sight of the necklace sitting snug around Fayes neck. The same necklace that Hestia had gifted Faye that seemed to heat up slightly against Fayes skin at Hecates scrutiny. "You really shouldn't be here."

"I know that, trust me." Faye responded a small smile gracing her lips as she began to play with the now exceedingly warm glass pendent.

"I didn't mean in existence here dear. I meant here. With the other gods. They will be your downfall. The least I can do it make sure you live a happy life without troubles for being a part of all of this even if I was unwilling." Hecate had told her matter-of-factly and for a moment Faye forgot to breathe, all the air leaving her lungs.

"You mean take me a way from Hestia?" Faye had murmured, the words tasting like acid on her tongue.

Hecate was offering to take her away from Hestia, to take her away from one of the few people that Faye loved and adore. Faye didn't even want to let such an idea set roots in her mind. She didn't want to hear another word that was coming out of Hecates' mouth.

"I'll take you away from them all." Hecate had said reassuringly.

Faye had physically recoiled at the words, her hand forming a fist around her pendant which seemed to sear itself into her skin, as if it was responding to the anger that was coiling within her like a snake ready to rear its ugly head and dig its fangs into any who dared speak anymore words of the offer that Hecate was giving her.

"No."

The word was out of her mouth, before her intelligence could remind her to keep her mouth shut, her anger rearing its ugly head.

"No? Do you understand what is happening? Do you understand the ramifications of you being here. They are beginning to love you, dare I say it some of them already do. Gods will tear apart worlds for those they feel only slightly for, imagine what the will do for the one they love." Hecate had said, her voice becoming louder with every word that she spoke.

Hecate had been moving closer to Faye the entire time that she was speaking until the two were practically touching noses, anger clear upon both females faces. Hecate looked ready to murder Faye for her disrespect, yet Faye was not backing down. If the Goddess before her thought that Faye cared about the rest of the world then she was sorely mistaken. Faye cared about her family and she would tear down anything that threatened it piece by piece if she had to. Faye knew her flaws; she was prideful, short tempered on occasion and possessive, so very possessive of her family.

"Do you think I care about this world? If so you're sorely mistaken Hecate. I care about Hestia. I care about Rhea. I care about Artemis, Iris and one mortal. The rest of the world can burn for all I care." Faye had practically spat the words at Hecate, eyes becoming slits as she squared her shoulders awaiting whatever judgement the Goddess would give her.

Hecates face twisted into a mask of utter fury as she took in the mortals words. It was clear to Faye in that moment that she was most likely going to end up as some sort of pig, or perhaps since she was still only six she would be a piglet. A dark aura seemed to exude itself from Hecate, suffocating everything around the two females and pressing down against Faye, choking her contorting her from the inside out.

"You know nothing you ignorant mortal. They are monsters hiding behind human masks."

"I know what they are and I don't care." Faye was barely able to choke out.

At Fayes exclamation Hecate seemed to pause. The pressure that had been building dissipating suddenly and Faye had gasped in lungfuls of air, savouring the sweet relief of no longer feeling like she was being turned inside out. A choked laugh erupted from Hecate as she stared down at Faye, her eyes soft and blood red lips upturned in amusement as if Fayes words were the most hilarious thing she had ever heard. Faye couldn't help but wonder if the Goddess before her was mad or just insane, her mood swings were certainly not normal.

"You are without a doubt the most interesting mortal I have seen in many centuries. I see the appeal that you hold. I'll be contacting you again, try not to let the others know, they won't be too happy with you talking to me." Hecate had said with a humorous lilt, her husky voice sending shivers up Fayes spine at the insinuation that the two of them would be meeting once again.

Hecate was gone a moment after leaving Faye to be once again drenched by the rain. The dark clouds in the skies rumbling and Faye didn't even pause before she spun on her heel and ran towards the house as fast as she could. It would be all too soon before she met Hecate again, in fact it would be too soon if she met Hecate again on her deathbed. She may have survived angering the Goddess once, but she didn't want to try it ever again.

* * *

That night, curled up in bed with Hestia wrapped around her body Faye felt safe. Faye knew that she would fight tooth and nail to stay with Hestia. In fact Faye would fight a Hydra if it meant that she could stay with Hestia for the rest of her new life, though she was sure she would die within the first few milliseconds. Reaching out in the dark she stroked Hestias hair gently checking to make sure that the Goddess was asleep before leaning in closer to the woman she was beginning to see as a mother, their cheeks touching.

"I love you Hestia." Faye had whispered softly, as if she was afraid that with those words the world would stop and swallow her up, dragging her away from the family that she had only recently realised that she had.

When Faye had closed her eyes and her breathing had slowed Hestia cracked open an eye, a smile gracing her lips as she leant forward, brushing her lips gently against Fayes forehead.

"I love you too." She whispered into the dark before tightening her hold on her daughter, for Faye was without a doubt hers even if she hadn't been born from her womb, relishing in the fact that her family was coming together for the first time since the beginning of the Bronze Age.

* * *

 **Thank you for Psyche Castle, Cassy daughter of the Moon, A Week Of Sundays, xenocanaan, lostfeather1 and animelover1013 for your reviews! You guys are amazing!**

 **So I hope you guys all like Hecate. As you can see Faye has found out who the supposed culprits for reincarnating her are (at least in the opinion of Hecate).**

 **Psyche Castle; that's okay! I'm happy that you like it, I really didn't think anyone would. I'll give you a hint that she'll be meeting Poseidon in the next 3-4 chapters along with another interesting God. Sadly she won't be meeting Apollo for a while, he's going to be one of the few Gods that meets Faye when she's in her teens, so I apologise for the wait. Everyone seems to want to see their interaction and I feel terrible for making you all wait so long.**

 **Cassy daughter of the Moon; Sorry for not explaining how she found Faye, she found her by looking for the 'aura' that she necklace Hestia gave Faye gave off (I won't give away any more than that cause it may spoil something) and also running from shop to shop to find her. It took so long because there are a lot of conflicting divine auras and feelings throughout New York (due to Olympus being situated there). Faye may tell them in the future but nothing is set in stone at the moment. Sorry for not specifying her age earlier on, I didn't mean to make you confused. The reason I created this story was because all I could think was that SI stories always focus on someone who is in their mid-twenties or younger, why not someone whose old enough to have grandchildren and lots of life experience? Also, I've never read an SI story on fanfiction where the SI isn't a demi-god, I mean, why not someone who is human and can see through the Mist? Hermes will be coming soon I promise, but not too soon since I have quite a few plans for him it's the same for Apollo sadly. Sorry** **.**

 **A Week Of Sundays: Thank you! You are too kind.**

 **xenocanaan: Well I hope you enjoy this chapter**

 **lostfeather1; Thank you for your lovely words, I'm so happy you enjoy it. I won't be introducing those wonderful two males for a little while. The first male God is one that I hope everyone will like and isn't someone anyone has guessed yet and he'll be making his appearance in chapter 7 or chapter 6.**

 **animelover1013: Yes I shall, sorry for the wait, real life got in the way of writing.**

 **I hope you guys don't think Faye is too Mary-Sue or anything and that the other characters are being portrayed up to your standards. If you have any recommendations I would love to hear them. I have most of the chapters all planned out in my head but if anyone has anything that they'd like to see don't be afraid to drop any suggestions.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome. Also, sorry for re-updating, I was just fixing some grammatical errors (^_^;)**

* * *

Chapter Six

Christmas had been a small event that had been filled with small meaningful presents, delicious food and horribly sung Christmas carols. Hestia had cautiously agreed to invite Iris to celebrate Christmas with Rhea, Faye, Artemis and herself. The younger Goddess had jumped at the chance, dressing up in a garish Santa suit and turning her hair fire engine red, which Rhea had blanched at in disgust.

The five females had enjoyed the day thoroughly coming together as many families all over the world did on such a day. Snowball fights were had, though in Fayes opinion it would be more apt to call it a war, with all five women pelting each other with as much snow as they possibly could after Faye had misjudged a throw aimed at Artemis and instead hit Rhea perfectly between her eyes. The mother of the Gods was not at all impressed and had been quick to retaliate which had lead to Artemis jumping in the fray in a fierce attempt to defend her best friend. Iris had joined for the fun of it and unsurprisingly Hestia had originally attempted to defuse the situation before giving up with a frustrated moan and had begun throwing snowballs at everyone.

In the end Christmas had been a wonderful day, with all of them curling up around the fire with cups of hot chocolate, relishing in each others company. Thus, with the year coming to a close Faye came to the realisation that it would soon be 1997, the same year that her career had begun to take off previously and Faye couldn't quite stop her curiosity from spiking, as the temptation to see if 'Faye Edwards' existed in this universe became all to real.

* * *

Faye had a list, a list that she had devised only a few weeks into January after she had been hit with the realisation that she had been living in America nearly seven years and had yet to see some of the countries many famous sites. Her dreadful stint of exploring New York with Rhea was not to be forgotten so Faye had decided that for her next adventures she would pick venues with security guards and a loudspeaker. On the top of this list was the Museum of Natural History.

So, it came as a wonderful surprise, when Fayes school decided that her class would be visiting the Museum of Natural History for a school excursion. Faye had practically skipped through the school gates on the day of the excursion, over the moon that everything seemed to be working out. Faye couldn't help the loud yelp that escaped her lips as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind, lifting her off the ground and spinning her around.

"Butch." Faye had admonished the boy, hitting one of his arms with an open palm lightly.

Within a year Faye was proud to say that Butch had officially begun to grow some confidence. The young boy had practically attached himself to her hip since she had spoken up against the schoolyard bullies, acting as if the two of them were super glued together. With a chuckle the boy let her down, the rest of the class not even looking their way so used to two of them. It was quite comical really; the quiet, cold and intelligent introvert who preferred to be left alone and the loud happy extrovert. Faye was sure she could earn good money if she wrote a sitcom about it.

Butch had been her 'project' all through the last year as she coaxed the boy out of his shell and had boosted the boys confidence to the point that he held his head with pride and was easily able to look people in the eyes when speaking to them. She had encouraged the boy to exercise more since she had remembered a study once that spoke about exercise easing stress and anxiety within people with ADHD. Faye also had taken it upon herself to go through all of Butchs homework with him carefully, making sure he understood everything and explaining it differently if he didn't understand. Faye was no teacher but she had been the mother of three beautiful children and had been completely invested and involved in all areas of their lives.

When Faye had been told that Butch was also dyslexic she had decided that the two of them would pick a book and read it together, a chapter each day, until the book was finished and they would pick another one. Butch had been all to eager to read the first Harry Potter book with her and they were already half way through. It wasn't going to fix his dyslexia and ADHD, but in Fayes opinion they were apart of what made Butch who he was, they didn't have to try to 'fix' him, all they had to do was figure out learning techniques that suited him and allowed for him to understand the coursework.

Faye had also found that Butch had never met his mother, being raised by his father who was a rather wealthy astrophysicist who worked for NASA. The man was extremely loving and doted on Butch as much as he could though he was usually away for work, which caused a slight rift between the two of them. According to Butch his mother and father had met while his father was still at university, after having him and giving him into the custody of his father his mother had disappeared, not even leaving a note.

A sharp poke had broken Faye out of her reverie when Butch decided to jab her in between the ribs to gain her attention. Faye was hardly able to stifle a groan as she imagined how much trouble she had created by simply giving the boy a boost of confidence, he was going to be a handful when he became a teenager.

"Are you excited Faye? I can't wait to see the dinosaurs! Promise you'll be my buss buddy." Butch gushed excitedly to Faye, his eyes alight with happiness and eagerness.

"Yes I am and of course I'll be your buss buddy you dunderhead." Faye old Butch affectionately, "Who else would be able to sit with you for two hours and survive?"

Butch had settled down after his outburst and before long the second year students were all on a buss to the Museum of Natural History. The buss ride took forever and Faye tried to sleep through the whole ordeal while children threw food and bouncy balls down the aisle, singing songs at the top of their lungs. Butch had immediately offered her the window seat before plunking himself down next to her and offering her his shoulder to sleep on to her utter delight.

A tiny part of Faye was worried that maybe he was too dependant on her, but she had always pushed Butch to go off and do his own thing, it wasn't her fault that he seemed drawn to whatever she was doing at the time. Faye knew the boy needed other friends, friends that weren't adults who had been reincarnated into little girl bodies and associated with deities. But she just couldn't seem to find it in herself to push the boy away, she was selfish in that way, wanting to keep him as her friend even though it probably wasn't in his best interest.

The buss trip was long and Faye had tried to sleep through the majority of the trip, emphasis on tried since Butch seemed to have come to the conclusion that his new life goal was to annoy Faye into an early grave. She adored the boy, she really did, but sometimes children were too hard to handle when they thought.

When the buss arrived, the teachers had been quick to begin the many formalities, which seemed to take even longer than the buss ride, before they were even allowed off of the buss. Eventually the small horde of second year primary school students were ushered off of the buss and into the museum. Faye could hardly contain her excitement to see the museum, her eyes wide and a grin plastered on her face.

The rules the teachers gave were clear, everyone was to stay together and no one was to wander off. Within the first few minutes Faye had lost her class. She had no intention of doing so, she had promised herself that she would stay glued to Butchs' side the whole field trip, so how the hell had she been separated from her school group. Faye was sure that the group had been headed towards the dinosaur exhibit so that was where she was going to head.

With a low groan of absolute exasperation Faye looked around for signs that would direct her to the Fossil Section. Faye was sure that if she caught up with her school group quick enough they wouldn't even notice she was gone, well perhaps Butch would, but the boy was easily distracted. Discovering that the Fossil Section of the museum was on the fourth floor Faye made her way up the stairs as quickly as she could, attempting to take them two at a time even though her short legs could hardly manage such a feat. Gods she was short for her age.

Grumbling under her breath Faye didn't even have the chance to look up when a large body ploughed into her own causing for her to loose her balance and begin to fall backwards down the stairs. Could her day get any better? A squeak erupted from her as a hand reached out grabbing the front of her shirt, tugging her forward to prevent her from falling backwards. Fayes breath was knocked out of her as she was crushed to the front of the person who had caught her and she took a moment to steady herself before moving away from the person who had caught her.

The person who had caught her it seemed was a tall elegant woman, with long black hair that was pulled back into a braid, a dark blue button up shirt, high-waisted black pants and black kitten heels she looked like she could have been a model. Storm-grey eyes bore into Faye and the woman crouched in front of her checking her over for any injuries.

"I apologise, I didn't mean to bump into you." The woman said, her voice clear and strong, with an air of authority.

"It's alright." Faye replied.

Her embarrassment was obvious as she hung her head ashamed at causing such a commotion, her entire face flushing a vibrant red. All Faye wanted to do was disappear and hide from sight, never to be seen by the beautiful woman again, she certainly didn't want the woman thinking that she was stupid. This was the type of woman that she would have once been friends with and perhaps that was why she was embarrassed about being put in such a situation with her.

"Are you lost?" The woman questioned, her eyes taking in Fayes school uniform and slightly dishevelled appearance.

"Only a little." Faye replied and began to knaw on her bottom lip as soon as she realised the words that she had spoken to the lady, she didn't want her to think she was a mischievous child.

The woman in question had snorted loudly at Fayes response, her lips twisting upwards into a smile. Faye had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing at the woman. The woman had stood up, rolling her shoulders to stretch them, before she held her hand out to Faye. Her storm-grey eyes soft and her posture relaxed, as if she was attempting to show Faye that she meant no harm.

"Well, my names Athena. What's your?" Athena asked, her hand still outstretched towards Faye.

Faye reached for the hand offered to her with excitement, unable to control the butterflies that had suddenly seemed to come to life within her stomach as she took in the name of the beautiful woman in front of her. She should have been afraid; she should have been filled with trepidation to know that somehow, someway, another Goddess had seemingly found her way into her life. At least Faye believed that the woman before her most likely was a Goddess.

Who even named their children after Greek Gods these days anyways? But, if she was wrong and this woman was completely normal she did not want to make a fool of herself so wisely kept her opinions to herself. For all she knew this wasn't the Goddess of wisdom and war strategy that Artemis sometimes spoke kind words about and that Hestia insisted would adore Faye.

"I'm Faye, it's a pleasure to meet you Athena." Faye had told Athena as the two of them began to walk up the stairs together.

"A pleasure to meet you too Faye. Now, do you know where you are meant to be Faye or should we go find a security guard?"

"I'm going to the Fossil Section, that's where my class was headed before I got lost and bumped into you."

With a hum of acknowledgement Athena had told Faye that she would take her to her class. Athena was curious about the young human girl in front of her and walking her to her class would give her time to get to know the little mortal. Besides, she could feel her aunts aura rolling off of the human girls necklace in waves, a good monster repellent to be sure, but an instant magnet to other Gods when they got close enough.

The two of them walked hand in hand through the museum, Athena stopping at some points to point out certain exhibits and discuss them with Faye. The two of them were lost in their own world, unaware that Fayes teachers were currently searching for urgently throughout the museum. It wasn't until Fayes name was called over the loud speaker that the two seemed to be broken out of their own little world, Athena gaining an embarrassed expression upon her face when she realised that she had been so lost in conversation with the little human girl that she had forgotten to return her to her school group.

The two of them had begun to quickly make their way to the information desk where they were meant to meet, reluctance clear upon Athenas face. Faye mourned the fact that the two of them were parting ways. Athena reminded Faye of someone that she was sure she had once been close with, had worked with and trusted, whom she had confided in her deepest fears and worries, but she just couldn't remember. The womans face was blurred and her name was on the tip of her tongue but Faye just couldn't remember. Dismissing such thoughts Faye tightened her hold on Athenas hand, focusing on the present.

When she was returned to her school group the teachers had been quick to shower Athena with their thanks, before turning to Faye and giving her a stern reprimanding for wandering off. Hesitantly Faye thanked Athena for 'finding' her and returning her to her school group. Athena had smiled knowingly before thanking her for keeping her company before disappearing into the crowd, her heels clicking against the floor rhythmically. Faye knew that when she got home the first thing she was going to do was ask Hestia about Athena, she wanted to see the Goddess again, no, she needed to see her again. She wanted Athenas friendship and she wanted her approval.

Going around the rest of the museum just didn't seem to matter anymore, Faye was too lost in her thoughts to pay any attention. So, when the buss came to pick them all up and Butch fell asleep on her shoulder, drooling slightly on her shirt Faye didn't even notice, so utterly consumed by her plans to once again meet Athena.

* * *

When Faye had arrived home Hestia had showered her with hugs and kisses, demanding Faye tell her all about her first school outing. Faye had been quick to comply, explaining to her everything that had occurred, her heart leaping within her chest Hestia confirmed that woman she had met matched Athenas description. Besides, Fayes ability to see through the Mist made her able to notice things other mortals didn't, or perhaps Faye had some divine radar that allowed drew her to all the Goddesses within a certain radius of her. Hestias face had turned fearful at the mention of the other Goddess though, her brow furrowing as she began to knaw on her lower lip.

"Why are you worried that I met Athena? Hestia, tell me what the matter is. Did I do something wrong?" Faye questioned, her mood reacting to Hestias as butterflies began to flutter within her stomach.

"No sweet one, you did nothing wrong. It's just…I fear for you. I fear for what some of the other Gods may do to you when they find out what is happening here. Of the twelve Olympians I know without doubt only Artemis would truly fight for you. I don't want them to take you away from me and I do not know where the others would stand on such matters."

"What does it if they find out Hestia, why do I have to stay hidden? Why is it so important that you have the twelve Olympians support on the matter of my adoption? Hestia, tell me what is going on." Faye couldn't keep the slight coldness from her voice as her stomach churned violently. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

"Faye, you have to understand that this has never occurred. Neither a God or a Goddess has ever truly claimed a mortal as their own. Not in the way I have at least. I have claimed you as my daughter, as my blood yet none of mine runs through your veins. I have raised you, I have given you a home and a family. At the most a God may patron a mortal, provide them with their favour and their assistance. Faye, no God has ever even treated their own demigod children as I have treated you. In fact, there is a law now, which prevents that. A law, which the Olympians made, that means that none of the Gods or Goddesses may contact their child unless approved. A law that prevents them from raising their own children. How do you think they will react when they find I am raising you. That whom I call daughter? They will kill you Faye! They will kill you and they will not even ask questions. I need to keep you hidden. I need to keep you safe. I will not let harm come to you. Not now, not ever" Hestias voice was slightly hysteric as she began her tirade but her voice lowered to a cold harsh tone at her last few words, her threat clear.

Faye bit her lip harshly, her mind working a million miles per hour. She was in danger because of some idiotic law that the Gods couldn't raise their own children and because the Olympians were known to act first and ask questions later. Hestia, though not breaking any rules had put herself in danger by taking in Faye. Rhea, Iris and Artemis had put themselves at risk by associating with Faye, by accepting her and caring for her. She had been so excited to meet Athena, so delighted to get to know the Goddess that she hadn't thought of the possible consequences and shame filled her to her very core.

Hestia pulled Faye to her desperately, crushing her to her chest and Faye clung to her, allowing for herself to be engulfed in the hug, breathing in her familiar scent of fire and marshmellows contentedly. Faye didn't want to let go, everything had spun violently out of control and there was nothing that she could do about it. Absolutely nothing.

Hecate had warned her that the Gods were monsters. Maybe some of them were monsters to have created a law that prevented a child from ever knowing the love of their other parent. Maybe, just maybe, Hecate had been right in her assumption that they were monsters behind masks. But, Faye still couldn't find it in herself to hate them. She hated their laws. She hated their opinions, but she could never them. She could never feel a drop of hate towards Hestia who so obviously despised such a law. She couldn't hate Rhea and Iris for bending to the rules of their kind, nor could ever feel hatred for Artemis for perhaps being apart of the making of such a law. No, she could never hate them, but she could hate the law.

"What are we going to do?" Faye questioned, her voice shaking slightly, though from fear or anger towards her new discovery she didn't know.

"I will contact Athena. I shall offer her all that I have as long as she does not breathe a word. I promise you Faye I won't let anything happen. I swear on the river of Styx that you are my daughter and I will die before I ever let anyone kill you." Hestia murmured into Fayes hair, tightening her grip on Faye when she stiffened at her oath.

Hestia felt her essence gripped by the oath, tying her to it for all eternity and she knew without a doubt that she would stand by it. No one was ever going to kill her daughter while she still breathed. And no one, not even the Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy was going to get in her way.

* * *

Hestia left that very night after tucking Faye into bed and kissing her forehead gently. Her hands trembling as she disappeared before Fayes very eyes to go speak with Athena. Faye couldn't remember how long she lay there, her eyes shut yet sleep refusing to take her when she felt the bed dip and a cool hand brush her hair away from her face. Fayes eyelids flew open and she took a sharp intake of breath as she recognised the woman sitting on her bed who had begun card their fingers through her hair.

Hecate. Her long hair fell loose in a wave of gold and her pale white skin seemed to glow in the dark, her black eyes boring into Fayes very soul. She was wearing a loose black shift dress that seemed to be made of velvet. Her blood red lips were downturned as she continued to weave her fingers through Fayes hair. Except unlike before a polecat rested upon her shoulders and Faye knew if she was to glance down she would be greeted with the sight of a black Labrador dog.

"Don't be afraid Faye. I don't mean you harm. I merely came to make my offer to you again." Hecate said, her voice low with a husky tinge to it that sent shivers up Fayes spine.

Faye felt frozen, completely lost in Hecates eyes, unable to move. It was as if the Goddesses gaze had frozen her, had glued her to bed and her heart beat wildly in her chest and se was sure that it was pounding loudly enough for Hecate to hear.

"The answer is still no." Faye finally managed to croak out, her voice seemingly caught in her throat, unable to be dislodged.

All Hecate did to acknowledge Fayes refusal was hum before twisting a Fayes hair sharply between two of her fingers. Bile built in Fayes throat and she closed her eyes tightly sucking in a deep breath. A slight chuckle caused her to open her eyes and Hecate loosened her hold on Fayes hair, letting her hand fall to Fayes shoulder, tracing circles upon her skin with her sharp nails.

"You are such a funny little human Faye." Hecate begun, her voice a sweet as honey, "But, this wasn't only a social visit. I came to help you."

"How can you help me?" Faye questioned, fighting the urge to sit up and face Hecate, knowing that it would most likely annoy the Goddess.

"You're forgetting." Hecate told her gently, as if she was breaking to Faye the gravest news that she would ever be told.

"I beg your pardon." Indignation rose within Faye, rearing its ugly head. She wasn't forgetting anything, she had a perfect memory.

"You're forgetting those who you once loved, things that once meant the world to you. You are forgetting."

Faye felt as if the world underneath her had shattered, as if she was drowning, water filling up her lungs and suffocating her. She wanted to rebut Hecates statement but she couldn't. Things had been becoming fuzzy lately, she could remember facts easily enough, but events, emotions, people. She couldn't even remember her own mothers face. She was forgetting. She was loosing a part of herself. She was loosing her very essence and suddenly it didn't matter to her if Zeus himself stuck her down because in that instant she had realised that she had been loosing a part of herself. Every time she had ignored her forgetfulness she had been ignoring the truth that was right in front of her very nose. It was like she was a Dementia patient, she was loosing what made her who she was.

"Stay calm Faye, breathe. I can't have you dying just yet silly girl. I told you I was here to help you." Hecate reprimanded her, though her voice held no bite and her smile was softer than Faye had ever seen it.

"How are you going to help me?" Faye asked, desperation clear. She would have given anything, become anything if Hecate would only promise to help her remain herself.

Leaning down Hecate brushed her lips against Fayes left temple, before leaning over and delivering another soft kiss to her other temple. Gently the Goddess traced her fingers around Fayes face, tracing her eyes, her lips before sharply tapping her nose with her fingernail.

It was as if everything became slightly clearer. She saw a face that she couldn't distinguish in her memories, she heard a song that she was so sure she didn't know the lyrics to and the name that had been sitting on the tip of her tongue when she first met Athena came trickling back to her ever so slowly. Robin.

"You, my little human, are going to meet with me once a month. We'll discuss payment next time"

With her words still ringing in Fayes ears Hecate disappeared, becoming one with the night, leaving behind no warmth and no trace that she was ever there other than the sharp pain on Fayes nose. Wearily Faye turned onto her stomach, burrowing her face into her pillow and screamed.

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 **T** **hank you xenocanaan, Cassy daughter of the Moon, Pokefanljb, Minimum Walk, A Week Of Sundays, Guest (x2...unless you were the same person) and chello baby for your reviews! You guys are amazing!**

 **So, I have a major favor to ask all of you guys. Do you know why fanfiction won't let me upload documents that are a little larger than 5,500 words? Cause it's becoming a bit of a hassle. I had to split this chapter in half because of it. If anyone knows how I could fix this I would be forever in your debt.**

 **Also I am looking for a Beta who might be wishing to edit this, if anyone is at all interested please PM me.**

 **xenocanaan; Thank you so very much for your lovely words, things will go very differently once she's an adult, in fact there will be a lot of challenges that everyone will be facing. A part of me wishes I could just get to that point already, but if I did I'm sure no one would be happy since nobody would understand the relationships that Faye has and will create with the Gods/Goddesses.**

 **Cassy daughter of the Moon; I really can't thank you enough for reviewing, I'm pretty sure you've reviewed every chapter and I really can't say thank you enough for all of your wonderful words of encouragement. Hestia has already adopted Faye, though it's not public knowledge to the Gods yet, only a certain few that she trusts. Faye will most likely not be patroned by any of the Gods or Goddesses due to the fact that none of the deities will really want her battling monsters or anything of the kind and thus won't see too much of a point to it. If anything a lot of them would/will love to wrap her in bubble wrap. Hecate will have a big part in this story and all will be revealed about the Fates and why they brought her into the world and needed Hecates magic eventually, we're just not at that point yet. Don't ever be sorry for asking question, I love answering them!**

 **Pokefanljb; Awwwww thank you! There is an overreaching plot arc, I promise, everything is happening for a reason. Everything will really start to happen when we hit the Percy Jackson books. This fanfic is split into three arcs. The arc we're in now, which I guess you could call the meeting arc, where Faye is meeting the Gods/Goddesses, when she's growing into herself and learning about the world that she is now apart of. The second arc is the Percy Jackson books and the third arc is the Heroes of Olympus arc. Faye is going to make some serious changes that will have some serious ramifications.**

 **Minimum Walk; Thank you, you made me blush with your kind words, it's not that good though in comparison to some of the amazing pieces of work out there at the moment. I can assure you Faye is definitely not going to be super powerful or anything (the only thing she might be good at eventually is archery thanks to Artemis and a little hand-to-hand combat but nothing serious and she'll have to work her little tush off for it). I'm sorry about the spelling mistakes, I promise that I'll get better most of them are made due to having to leave and come back or writing really late at night (though those aren't really excuses).**

 **Guest; Oh I can assure you there will be a few heated words exchanged when they first meet and Artemis isn't around to play mediator, it's going to be an interesting meeting I promise.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world. The only thing I do own is Faye and this idea.**

 **I am so sorry for the late update; university was out to kill me and this chapter was a bit like pulling my own teeth out. To be honest I'm still not entirely happy with it. But the next one is nearly finished so it should be out sometime next week. I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Seven

When Hestia arrived on Mt Olympus she headed straight towards Athena's temple, the night shrouding her from view and she sent a quick thanks to Nyx for her aid. The temple of Athena was beautiful, a cool grey marble with owl motifs carved along the pillars and over the doorway, it was simple yet elegant. Hestia shivered as she realised that this was the first time that she had not felt at home, had not felt safe, while on Olympus.

Entering the temple she took in the white curtains hanging across doorways and the numerous books and scrolls which line the wall along with an unmeasurable amount of weapons, ranging in size and shape. Armour was displayed along with maps and Hestia wrung her hands together fearfully, making her way towards the centre of Athena's temple where she knew her niece currently resides. The centre of Athena's temple was large and circular, the epicentre of her temple and the floor was an intricate map of the world, a large grey marble bench was placed in the middle of the room here Athena sat on a plain wooden chair reading one of her many books.

Athena turned as soon as Hestia entered the room, her stormy grey eyes looked Hestia up and down, assessing her, dissecting her. She could have been mistaken for an angel with her black hair spilling down her shoulders, a white chiton edged in gold lace clinging to her curves, but Hestia knew that her niece was far more dangerous than gave her credit for. Athena was not to be trifled with, and steeling herself, Hestia walked forwards, shoulders back and chin held high in an attempt to hid her fear from Athena.

"Aunt Hestia, a pleasure to see you. Though, you appear distressed. Is there anything that I might do for you?"

Hestia knew the only way to converse with Athena was to address the problem head on; she didn't want to hide behind flowery words and fake niceties. Thus, Hestia took a deep breath, quashed her nerves and closed the distance between herself and Athena until they were only a foot away from each other.

"I'm here about the child that you met this morning while at a museum."

Athena hummed under her breath as she turned back to the scroll she had previously been consulting. Hestia clenched her hands, fingernails digging into her palms leaving little half-moon indents. She knew what Athena was doing, baiting her, waiting to see what Hestia was willing to give, how much this information she had gained was worth. Hestia may not have played the games of deceit and treachery like her siblings but she has watched enough to know the basics.

"Athena, no laws have been broken. You know this." Hestia tries, her voice steady and she refuses to drop her gaze even if Athena is no longer looking at her.

"Indeed, no laws have been broken. The child is not yours; she is but a clear-sighted mortal. But, that raises the question as to why she carries a gem around her neck that reeks of your spiritual energy, of your Divine aura. Quite an ingenious idea I will admit since it keeps away the monsters, but of course the downside to such a thing is that it draws our attention instead. It also leads me to question why you have taken such an interest in a mortal Aunt?" Athena questioned Hestia as she turned around, her eyes alight with curiosity.

Hestia could have cried in relied when she noticed the look on Athena's face. If Athena was curious Hestia could use that, she could tempt her niece with information, with knowledge and a good mystery. Right now the relationship between Faye and herself was a puzzle to Athena. Hestia knew with the right incentive Athena wouldn't breathe a word to Zeus or any of the other Gods.

"Faye is my daughter in everything but blood. I found her when she was no more than four years old after her parents had abandoned her. Athena, her desire for a family was so strong that I was physically drawn to her. Don't ask me why I chose to adopt her, I still can't answer that question myself Athena, but I know without a doubt that it was the best decision I have ever made in my immortal life. Rhea, Artemis and Iris know of her existence and support me completely in my endeavour to raise her." Hestia told Athena, yet the other Goddess gave no indication that she had even heard her, ignoring her words, instead choosing to scrutinise Hestia with her eyes.

Hestia knew Athena would want the truth so the truth was what she would give her. She had nothing to hide and by stating that both Rhea and Artemis held no animosity towards Faye and it would also give her some political clout. Athena would definitely think twice before she angered her fellow virgin Goddess and the Mother of the Gods. As an added bonus Athena would most likely be more invested in keeping Faye alive. Athena never left a mystery unsolved.

"Please Athena, I beg of you, for any love that you may hold for me to not speak of this to anyone. I will do anything Athena, anything. I have broken no laws and you know that others will be quick to jump to conclusions if they find out about her existence." Hestia had tried again as she begun to nervously wring her hands.

Hestia felt her gut churn violently and she fought the urge to throw up. Hestia was unable to stop the feeling of utter hopelessness that begun to fill her. Athena had hardly even spoken, she had hardly even acknowledged Hestia's words. It was not going well.

"Dearest Aunt," Athena began, "I had no intention of informing Lord Zeus of the child, but since you have so graciously offered anything I desire for my silence I will ask of you only one thing. Allow me to converse with the child that you've adopted once more, I wish to know her and understand what it is that you has you so enraptured in her."

For a moment Hestia forgot to breathe and her throat closed over as she processed Athena's words. Athena wanted to get to know Faye. Athena wanted to get to know her daughter. No, Athena didn't want any of those things; she was demanding that she get to meet Faye in exchange for her silence. There was no way that Hestia could deny Athena what she had asked. Of course, it appeared to be simple favour, but Hestia knew better. Athena did nothing without first having a reason and Hestia was wary of allowing her to interact with her daughter.

So, with a heavy heart Hestia could do nothing more but smile and graciously accept Athena's terms. The deal between the two Goddesses was struck and it was agreed that Athena would come and meet Faye once again at the end of the week since Hestia didn't want to interfere with Faye's education and Athena was a very busy Goddess. It was also important for Hestia that they waited until the weekend, as it would give her enough time to send word to Artemis. Hestia wanted another Olympian there if things got out of hand and she knew that Artemis would give up on her hunt before she allowed any harm to come to Faye.

* * *

Everything seemed to be different, disjointed. It was as if Faye had discovered that the world actually flat and so very easy to fall off. She was loosing herself and she couldn't do anything about it and more importantly she had made a mess of everything and now poor Hestia was now stuck cleaning up.

Wasn't she meant to be an adult? Wasn't she meant to be able to take charge of situations? She was meant to be a highly praised psychologist; a woman who had given birth to three children and raised them all on her own. A woman who could deal with her problems head on. She was not mean to be someone who relied on others to fix their mistakes. She was meant to be so much more than what she was now.

Breakfast had been quiet and hardly a word had been spoken between Faye and Hestia, except when the Goddess informed Faye that Athena would be coming to visit on the weekend. Four days. Faye wanted to scream like she had the night before, to let her frustration out, because they had four days before the Athena arrived at their house and Hestia didn't look like she was going to cope.

"Everything will be fine Hestia. I'm sorry–"Faye had tried to speak only to be cut off by Hestia, her warm voice unusually sharp.

"It's alright Faye, I've already told you there is nothing to apologise for. Now you should hurry, Iris is going to take you to school today. I'll see you tonight."

With those last few words Hestia had practically shoved Faye out of the house into Iris's waiting arms. Iris was as flamboyant as always, with a deep blue kaftan dress and bells adorning her ankles and wrists, her feet bare and tinged brown from dirt. Iris seemed to have decided it was a 'blue' day since her hair, which was pulled back in a loose bun, was a bright electric blue and her eyes reflected the sky above them.

A giggle escaped Faye's mouth as Iris scooped her up into her arms, smothering her in hugs and kisses, informing her that her uniform was drab and was in much need of colour. It was hard to not be happy when Iris was around, it seemed that the Rainbow Goddess brought with her joy and happiness, her upbeat attitude seemed to infect Faye bringing a genuine smile to her face.

It should have been no surprise to Faye that Iris had chosen to drive her to school in a camper van that was painted with all the colours of the rainbow, yet Faye still couldn't quite believe her eyes when she was met with the sight of the monstrosity that Iris was calling a car.

Yet, within that same monstrosity Faye felt safe. Iris had turned up her music until the car vibrated due to the sound, singing along at the top of her lungs unashamedly. Faye was hardly able to stop herself when she begun to join in with Iris, her voice completely off tune. It felt as if they were in their own little world, a world where all Faye's worries disappeared.

Unfortunately, Faye had a question that needed answering so after two songs had finished; she begrudgingly reached out and turned the music off. Without the music the car fell into complete silence, only the hum of the engine breaking the quiet. Faye had turned herself to face Iris, crossed her fingers and sent a silent prayer to anyone who was listening that Iris would answer her question and not try to dodge around it like everyone else seemed to.

"Iris, I have a question." Faye had to stop herself from physically patting herself on her back as her voice came out steady and strong, reminding her of a tone that she once used to use with difficult clients.

Iris nodded towards her happily, encouraging her to go on, to ask her question. Faye licked her lips, wetting them, took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. If anyone would answer her questions with truth and sincerity it would be Iris. Hestia would know of course, but it was unlikely she would understand due to being a virgin Goddess, the same went for Artemis and Faye didn't know how Rhea would react the subject that she was about to bring up with the Rainbow Goddess. So, crossing her finger fingers and praying to God that Iris wouldn't freak out and crash the car Faye ploughed ahead.

"Iris, I have a question about Demigods."

As soon as the words left her mouth Iris breathed sharply, tightening her hands on the steering wheel and turning her head violently towards Faye, her eyes as wide as dinner plates. For a moment the two stared at each other, Faye half in shock that she had finally asked the question that had been plaguing her, while Iris was clearly completely out of her depth. Within a few moments Iris's eyes darted back to the road, her hands shaking slightly.

At least she hadn't crashed the car, besides she hadn't refused to answer Faye's questions so she decided it was better to ask now and be refused than to wait until Iris had calmed down enough to try and change the subject.

"…Iris, can you explain to me why the Gods aren't' allowed to interact?"

Faye nearly jumped a foot in her seat when Iris pulled the car over suddenly, ignoring the car behind them that beeped at them furiously. After what seemed like hours, but was truly only seconds, Iris unclipped her seatbelt and spun in her seat to face Faye, her knees tucked up underneath her and her hair becoming a mess of dark colours. She looked so serious, so very ancient and tired that Faye didn't know how to feel or what to make of the woman that was before her. The Iris she knew was quirky and eccentric with a serene disposition. The Iris that Faye knew lacked self-consciousness and seemed unafraid of anything. The woman that sat before her now was not the Iris that Faye knew. This Iris seemed tired and broken, as if she had t lost everything that made her who she was.

"Faye, you have to understand that we are not evil beings, nor omnipotent forces. We make mistakes, though most of us do not like to admit. Long ago, a law was made, I cannot remember when exactly since time moves so differently for us, but I do remember the anguish that I felt when it was made. The law stated that no God or Goddess may interfere with mortal affairs, thus we are unable to interact with our children, unable to contact them or physically give them aid, all we can do is bless them and attempt to guide them from afar."

Faye didn't understand, the law seemed flawed, extremely flawed. The law said that the Gods and Goddess weren't allowed to interfere with the affairs of mortals yet they were constantly off having children with mortals, having relationships with mortals, it didn't make any sense at all. Besides, hadn't Hestia told her that she wasn't breaking any laws by raising her? Obviously Hestia had a different idea of what interference was since Faye was pretty sure that raising her as her daughter was interfering with her life.

"But what about me? I'm a mortal. Aren't you all breaking the law by interfering with my life?"

For a moment it was as if the old Iris had repapered as her hair grew lighter and her eyes gained a mischievous twinkle. Iris's mouth curved up into a smirk as if she had been waiting for Faye's question since starting her lecture on the law.

"Ahhh, but you see the Gods are allowed to have relationships with mortals as long as they do not interfere with their affairs. Thus what we have done is create a relationship with you, though not romantic. There are loopholes within all our laws as long as they appeal to Zeus. Besides, the rules are tighter when it comes to Demigods and much more lenient with mortals and clear-sighted mortals like yourself. If you must know, there was recently a new law created by Zeus around the end of Second World War, a law that states that the 'Big Three' may no longer have any Demigod children. They all had to take an oath on the river of Styx."

Involuntarily an angry hiss had left Faye's mouth as she digested Iris's words. Zeus was a fool. An utter fool and an egotistic chauvinistic pig who cared only for himself. Though Faye noted that his law regarding not having any children was rather out of character from what she had heard of him. Zeus didn't see like the type to deny himself anything let alone the pleasures of an affair with mortal women.

"But none of it makes any sense, it's not fair on the children and it's certainly not fair on the parents." Faye protested

She still couldn't understand why any parent would allow such a law to be created, for a parent to even consider creating one. Hell, Faye couldn't remember the names of her children, let alone their appearances, only that she'd given birth to three beautiful children, twin girls and a boy and she would kill to get that information back. To be refused the right to have a relationship with your own child was a travesty in her eyes, unless the parent was unfit.

"I know."

Iris looked drained and so very spent, it was obvious to Faye that Iris had given up the fight against this law a long time ago and had come to accept it. Still, a final question bothered her and Faye wanted all the facts, she wanted to help Iris emotionally, she wanted to support her.

"Iris…do you have any Demigod children?"

Silence reigned within the car and neither of them spoke until Iris began to speak, her voice barely coming out in a whisper.

"One. I have one at the moment. In truth Faye, it breaks my heart to not be a part of their life so I cannot see the point in having them. It hurts, it hurts so much every time and I just can't do it anymore. I've seen the relationship between yourself and Hestia and I want that for myself. I want to be a mother to my children no matter how much divine blood flows through their veins."

Faye's mind whirled as she tried to come up with something, someway to fix the situation.

"Maybe I can do something–" Faye had begun to say before Iris cut her off by pulling her into a hug, smothering her slightly.

The car hand-break dug sharply into her hip bone and her seatbelt constricted tightly over her ribcage, but the hug still managed to make Faye relax slightly. She knew without Iris telling her that there was nothing for her to do. She was a mortal and they were Gods, the rules that they each followed were different and she had to learn them before she could be of any help. But, it was like Iris had said, there were loopholes in all of their laws and perhaps Faye might be able to find one that would let Iris connect with her child, that would allow her to have some semblance of a relationship with them. Eventually they parted, though neither truly wanted to let go of the other.

"I should get you to school." Iris said, her voice light and her hair changing back to the electric blue it had been before their conversation.

It was clear to Faye that she would much rather forget the conversation that had taken place between them and when they reached the school and hugged each other once more, telling each other that they loved one another, to be safe and enjoy their day Faye couldn't help but notice the way Iris clung to her a little tighter and told her that she loved her with a little more force than usual.

* * *

Faye wished that she could have said the days leading up to Athena's arrival flew by, but instead they seemed to drag on slowly, too slowly, making her stomach churn more violently as every day passed. The outcome of their conversation had too much riding upon it; there was too much pressure. Either way, when the weekend arrived Artemis, Rhea, Iris and Hestia all congregated into the hallway, Faye pushed behind them protectively.

Artemis had been the most verbally against letting Athena talk with Faye, proclaiming that it would be infinitely more easy to make Faye one of her Hunters, or at the very least lie and have Faye come and live with her until the other Athena lost interest. Hestia had very nearly attacked Artemis at the suggestion, swearing up and down to her fellow Goddess that Faye was her daughter and wouldn't be leaving her care until she was much older. Thankfully Rhea had been able to diffuse the situation. Unfortunately, Artemis seemed unable to stop herself from constantly fingering one of her hunting knives that were strapped to her thigh, as if waiting for an attack. Iris had seemed unable to deal with the stress of the situation and had busied herself cooking an abundance of muffins and other such baked goods.

When Athena did finally enter into the house it was as if the other four Goddesses had forgotten how to breathe and all four watched her like hawks. Athena was greeted curtly and there was no attempt at small talk which left the room silent and filled enough tension that it was tangible. Faye very nearly had an aneurysm when she realised that the conversation that Athena wanted was most likely never going to happen with the other four Goddess around and decided that she had to take matters into her own hands.

"Good morning Athena, it's a pleasure to see you again. Would you perhaps like to go outside and have a cup of tea with me? We can talk about whatever you want to there." Faye said, moving in front of Hestia and towards Athena.

Athena's grey eyes widened only fractionally before she schooled her face though her lips twitched minutely.

"That would be lovely Faye." Athena replied and Faye mentally patted herself on her back for her quick thinking.

"How do you take your tea?" Faye asked, keeping her eyes firmly fixed upon Athena, unwilling to glance back at either Hestia or Artemis.

She knew without turning around that the two were probably readying themselves to verbally jump down Athena's throat, honestly, it was like the two of them didn't think that she couldn't handle a conversation with Athena. Faye had to admit that they might be right, she was out of her depth and Athena obviously had ulterior motives, but, even though she had made a mess of things last time Faye felt something so very familiar in Athena that she couldn't prevent herself from talking to her.

"Earl-grey, black, one sugar."

Before Faye had even begun to move towards the kitchen another voice entered the conversation, shaking slightly when both Athena and Faye turned towards them. "I can get the tea ready, while you two go outside. It'll only take a minute"

Iris. Wonderful, amazing Iris had offered to make tea. Sending a grateful smile towards her Faye hurried Athena outside onto the porch, the two of them sitting comfortably on wicker seats. Athena looking the picture of poise and grace, while Faye tucked her legs up underneath her so that she could sit just a little bit taller.

"So, you want to talk to me."

Athena raised an eyebrow elegantly at her statement and Faye attempted to raise her own in return only to fail miserably since her face was that of a child's and her features were still soft from baby fat. Faye groaned and slumped back against the chair when Athena snorted at her horrible attempt.

"I want to understand you a little better."

Faye nodded, it was a reasonable request. If she had been in Athena's position she would have wanted to know more as well. Athena, Faye realised, was nothing if not pragmatic. From the way she dressed to the way she acted, Athena didn't hide behind fake smiles or coy gestures, Athena was straightforward, or at least she had been with Faye.

"You mean you wanted to see what all the fuss was about?" She joked and couldn't prevent herself from smiling in elation when Athena's lips quirked upwards at her words.

"Bluntly, yes."

It was too easy, much too stare at Athena out of the corner of her eye and imagine her as Robin. Their appearance was so similar that Faye was sure they could have been twins, a small part of Faye wished that Hecate had let Robin disappear from her memories because at least she wouldn't be having a mental crisis when she was speaking to Athena. Robin had been her best friend in her previous life and had stuck by her through thick and thin. The fact that Athena not only looked like her, but acted like her as well, was like pouring lemon juice onto an open wound and enjoying it. It was a masochistic of her to try to picture Athena as Robin, but it didn't stop Faye for one second.

"Well, what you see is what you get. I thought that you would have already gotten at least a little bit of an understanding of my personality from the Museum."

Before Athena could even open her mouth to retort to Faye's statement Iris walked out, carrying two cups of tea. Iris's entire face seemed to be schooled in a mask of politeness as she gently placed the cups down on the small coffee table that rested between Athena and Faye and quickly kissed the top of Faye's head before disappearing back into the house without a word.

Athena picked up her tea and took a long sip, staring into the cup as if it held the answers to the entire universe. Placing it on the table once more she ran her hands down her black pencil skirt, smoothing its non-existent creases before she focused her attention entirely upon Faye once again.

"Did you know?"

At Athena's question Faye couldn't help but smile. She had seen this question coming since the Goddess had first walked into the house that afternoon, it had obviously been bothering her and someone like Athena hated unanswered questions.

"That you were a Goddess? I had my suspicions."

Mirth shone in Athena's grey eyes at Faye's words and a smile ghosted over her lips. It was an achievement in Faye's opinion to please Athena, a highly satisfying one which shocked Faye to her core. Faye had been prepared to be affable with Athena, to please her and make her more compliant to Hestia's wishes. She had not been prepared to desire Athena's acknowledgment and respect.

"You are quite intelligent for a child your age."

Again Faye preened at her words and mentally berated herself and she shuffled in her seat and her face began to heat up. She was weak, so very weak. It was unhealthy to treat Athena as if she was Robin, it really was. She was a psychologist, she knew this. But, it didn't stop her relishing at thought that perhaps Athena had taken an interest in her.

"I would hope so, I do enough study."

Athena's eyes narrowed at her admission and Faye nearly groaned when she realised that she was probably making an utter mess of things once again, she was meant to be seven, not a woman grown. Seven-year-old children certainly didn't speak like she did and Athena was smart enough to notice that, smart enough and curious enough to start asking all the right questions. Faye just couldn't keep up with her own emotions, being a child was too hard sometimes.

"What do you like to study."

"Anything I can get my hands on currently, though I do like anything to do with psychology and medicine."

There was no point in lying to Athena, no reason to hide that she was intelligent. Perhaps that would cover up the obvious differences in her personality and actions if she tried to play off that she was just a highly intelligent if slightly introverted child. Besides, she wanted Athena to recognise her as an intelligent young woman, not some simpering child.

"You want to me a psychologist?"

Yes. No. Maybe. There were too many variables now to know what she truly wanted to do anymore with her life. She had been a psychologist for more than half her previous life and she now had the chance to become anything she wanted. Many people never got the chance to start over again and here she was saying she wanted to go down the same path that she already knew. She still loved psychology, she loved working with people and helping them through their problems in a way that no Doctor ever could, she wanted to make a difference. But what if becoming a psychologist wasn't going to let her make the right differences.

"Maybe."

The two sat in a comfortable silence, finishing off their tea, neither saying a word. It was a truly beautiful afternoon, the sun was just starting to set, giving off a warm golden glow that offset the backyard and small garden. Natures filter, the perfect time for a photograph she had once been told.

"After all, what's a life, anyway? We're born, we live a little while, we die." Faye's voice was barely a whisper though Athena appeared to hear her words clearly since she replied to her almost instantaneously.

"E.B White, Charlotte's Web."

Faye stared at Athena, a wide smile breaking out on her face when Athena told her the author and the book she had quoted from.

"He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious." Athena fired off, scrutinising Faye, waiting to see if she would respond correctly if at all.

"Sun Tzu, The Art of War."

Faye mentally patted herself on the back for her quick response, Athena was unable to hide her enjoyment as a proper smile made its way onto her face before the two of them again fell into a comfortable silence. Both relaxing in the others presence, watching the sun set. Eventually Athena stood up, the picture of poise and grace.

"Thank you Faye, it was lovely to talk to you again."

Athena stretched out her hand rather awkwardly, as if expecting Faye to shake it and she couldn't help giggle. Standing up from her seat Faye took Athena's hand squeezing it tightly before before wrapping her other arm around Athena. It was a rather uncomfortable hug, but it seemed to get the message across to Athena since she bent down slightly and returned it. Faye was quick to keep the hug short and sweet, detangling herself from Athena before the Goddess began to feel uncomfortable.

It seemed Athena was at a slightly loos for words as she once again stared curiously down at Faye before smiling warmly down at her.

"I'm rather busy, but maybe we could keep in contact. I would like to see the type of woman that you grow into. I'm sure if you ask Iris we could send letters or IM each other from time to time."

Faye couldn't help but agree with her and when they walked back inside. Even long after Athena left she couldn't keep the smile off her face, even when Artemis and Rhea both began to fuss over her, she was just too happy and nothing was going to bring down her mood.

* * *

At least, she had believed nothing would bring down her mood. Walking into her bedroom that night she nearly jumped a foot in the air when she realised that a piece of paper was lying innocently on her pillow.

The paper was a crisp white and smelled like lavender and smoke. 'Faye', was written in cursive writing on the front and when she unfolded it only a time and a date was written upon it in the very same cursive her name had been written in.

Faye was no idiot and she was quick to shred the piece of paper into small pieces of confetti. How in the hell Hecate had managed to put her note in Faye's bedroom while the house was full of powerful Goddesses Faye didn't know, but what she did know was that she feared Hecate. She feared what she was going to ask for, she feared the ulterior motive that the Goddess was sure to have. But, she also knew that she feared loosing her memories more, and wasn't that a scary notion.

* * *

 **Thank you xenocanaan, Primrue, OTrizy, GotNoName123, Death Fury, Primrue, lightwalnut64 and FieryWaters for your reviews! You guys are simply amazing! I really can't thank you enough.**

 **Primrue; thank you so much for letting me know about that, I've changed it as you'll notice and I'm so happy that you like it so far and that you read it even though you were wary.**

 **OTrizy; it's okay, I fixed it, but thank you for offering help. It turns out that chrome works better than safari for uploading chapters.**

 **GotNoName123; I hope that it's okay that it took a darker turn, it'll still be light hearted, but there will be some serious topics spoken about.**

 **So, this chapter is really heavy on dialogue but I hope you guys like how the Gods are being portrayed and everything is up to your standards. I'm always really wary about how I'm describing the God since I am changing things about them.**

 **If you have any recommendations I would love to hear them. I have most of the chapters all planned out in my head but if anyone has anything that they'd like to see don't be afraid to drop any suggestions. Also, Faye will be meeting her first male God next chapter! I'm so excited to introduce him. Any guesses?**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not Percy Jackson, that wonderful book belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome. I'm so sorry for this being so late. I went overseas and found that Indonesia blocks FanFiction which was fun and then by the time I got back from overseas university had started and begun to kick my ass. Either way, it's up now and I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter Eight

 _Dear Athena,_

 _I don't know what to write, but I promised I would and I would hate for you to think that my word means nothing. In the week since I last saw you I have had to deal with the aftermath of Artemis and Hestia worrying that you might have corrupted me in some way, which I find rather insulting personally. I am not so easily swayed and I consider myself a rather good judge of character. Iris has agreed to pass on my letters to you free of charge, she thinks that we might be good for each other. I hope that this letter finds you well and that I can speak with you again soon._

 _-Faye_

 _P.S_

'… _there are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best.'_

* * *

The sun was much too bright and Faye's hands were sticky with sweat even though it was January and Summer was a long way off. It was a change to meet Hecate when the sun was out, a complete contrast to how all of her other meetings had been. The Goddesses two familiars curled up next to her, neither looking up or even acknowledging Faye when she had approached. But, Faye still found herself tense up when she caught sight of the Goddess lounging comfortably against a tree as if she owned the entire world.

It was during her lunchbreak at school that Hecate had told Faye to meet her and Faye had been forced to skip her Maths lesson. In truth, Faye hadn't particularly cared that she was going to miss out on basic maths, she had always disliked the subject. But, she also realised the implication that came with Hecate demanding her presence during school hours. By Hecate ordering her to be free on a certain time and day she gained a measure of control over Faye, added to the fact that without Hecate Faye was surely going to loose all memories of her past life it scared Faye to realise that she was going to be depending on someone as dangerous as Hecate.

Much like the first time she had met her Hecate's blonde hair was tied up in a sleek, harsh ponytail and her black dress clung to her curves deliciously. Faye hated to admit, but she had been the type of woman that Faye had once desired to look like when she was young, long before she grew to love her subtle curves, long legs and long curly red hair that were nothing more than a distant memory to her now.

"You came early. Good girl, it seems that you do have manners." Hecate praised her and Faye began to twist her hands together momentarily, before stopping and forcing her hands to stay perfectly still at her sides. She didn't want to show any fear in front of Hecate, it would only spur her on.

Faye had stood in front of her, unsure what to do, whether she was meant to sit down with Hecate or stay standing awkwardly while the Goddess seemingly soaked up the sun. Hecate, it seemed, had found great amusement in Faye's predicament. Only after five minutes had gone by with Faye standing uncomfortably off to the side, had she gestured for Faye to sit down in front of her, her black eyes twinkling in mirth.

"What do you want?" Faye whispered the question, fear had made itself at home within her stomach and she was quite sure that she was going to vomit if Hecate kept her waiting any longer.

"Hmmm? I must apologise, I didn't quite hear you there. Are you a mouse or are you a woman?"

It was clear to Faye that though Hecate's entire posture screamed boredom she was anything but, Faye was a mouse and Hecate was the cat that was playing with her food before going in for the kill. Swallowing her fear Faye squared her shoulders and looked Hecate straight in the eye.

"What do you want in payment for helping me keep my memories Lady Hecate."

Hecate snorted as if her question was the most stupid question she had ever been asked, as if she should have already known what it was Hecate wanted. Faye wanted to pull out her hair in frustration and cry all at the same time. In fact, truth be told she'd probably prefer to pull out Hecate's hair, but she highly doubted that the Goddess would ever let that happen.

"I want a favour"

Faye's confusion must have been clear on her face because Hecate rolled her eyes skywards as if she could no longer deal with the stupidity of the mortal in front of her. A favour. What could Faye give the Goddess that would be of any worth? What could she even do that could possibly be worth enough for Hecate to help her?

"A favour?" Faye questioned, the word rolling off her tongue like something foreign to her.

"Do you not have ears little mouse. A favour. You will do as I ask, no questions, you must do exactly as I ask."

Hecate leaned forwards and tugged on Faye's left ear none to gently, as if she was trying to check whether it was still functional, her nails digging into the soft lobe and Faye was sure that if she looked, little half moons would have been indented on her ear. The only person that might have been happy if Faye had little half moon scars on her ear would be Artemis so Faye was quick to reach up and attempt to bat away Hecate's hand.

"And what is this favour?"

Faye was sure that her suspicion was even more evident in her voice than her obvious annoyance at Hecate's manhandling of her ear. Yet the only response she got from Hecate was the beautiful twisting of her macabre lips into a sinful smirk.

"I don't know yet."

Faye really was going to rip out Hecate's hair if she didn't get a straight answer and fast.

"Excuse me?"

"When I want my favour I will call upon you for it and you will give me my favour Faye. You will swear it on the River of Styx. Swear it now Faye, swear that you will complete my favour no matter what I ask of you."

Hecate's words were like poison that had been dipped in honey and then coated with sugar. They were deadly and Faye knew that whatever Hecate asked of her would most likely not be something that she would be entirely willing to do.

"I swear on the River of Styx that I, Faye Edwards, will complete the one favour that is asked of me by Hecate, if she continues to keep my current memories intact."

It was like a knot had been tied within her through only her words, the words seemed to coil up within her and tighten violently and she felt a tug deep inside of her very existence. A tug that warned her that if she ever chose to break her vow she would not like the consequences. Her hands trembled as she realised what she had done and she wondered what the price of her own sanity, her own selfishness would be.

A throaty laugh erupted from Hecate as if she had not been expecting Faye to actually go through with what she had asked. Maybe, a dark part of Faye's mind whispered, she wouldn't have made her swear of the River of Styx if she had said no, if she had fought back.

"My, you are a smart one little mouse, very clever. You certainly do make everything more interesting. Well now, stand still and I'll be on my way. I need to see you at least once a month. If you start to forget anything in between that time contact me."

And with those words Hecate had leaned forwards, once again her red lips kissed each of her temples gently, ghosting over her skin like a feather, before she drew back to trace Faye's face. Her fingernails tickled over her eyelids and her lips before she again tapped Faye's nose like she had done the first night. Faye hoped that it was a part of the ritual of getting her memories back and not just Hecate playing sick and twisted mind games with her. Then, just as every time before Hecate was gone before Faye had even had the chance to open her eyes and scowl at the Goddess.

Gods above she hated Hecate.

* * *

Faye loved her little family, but out of all of them, she loved Hestia the best. In fact she would happily have given up them all if she could just be assured that she could stay with Hestia forever. Hestia kept her grounded, Hestia kept her sane even when she didn't know which way was up or down.

So, when Hestia came to her and told her that on Athena's proposal she was going to introduce Faye to her closest sister, Demeter, Faye had been elated. She was going to be meeting one of Hestia's siblings. The people that she had told Faye stories of and that were a major part of her life.

According to Hestia, Athena though that it would be smart to start introducing Faye to the Twelve Olympians. That way, if Zeus was to call a vote about whether or not Faye would be allowed to live Hestia would be able to sway more to her side.

So, in Hestia's opinion, she knew that the best of her siblings to first introduce Faye to would be Demeter. Demeter who knew what it was like have a daughter who was the centre of her universe. Demeter who would hopefully be able to see the parallels between the love that Hestia held for Faye and Demeter's own love for Persephone. Hestia knew that Demeter would never separate a mother from their daughter and she was going to use that to her advantage.

When Demeter had arrived Faye had been slightly taken aback when the Goddess of the harvest, after embracing Hestia with much vigour had turned to her, knelt down and hugged her a bit too tightly for comfort. Eventually she had pulled back, which had allowed Faye to finally get a good look at the Goddess of Agriculture.

Demeter was every bit as beautiful as Hestia, though in Faye's opinion Hestia would always be the loveliest of the two. They both had the same black hair that tumbled down to their lower backs, though Demeter's was straight where Hestia's were ringlets. Both had the same brown eyes, though where Faye had begun to notice Hestia's were flecked with red and gold, Demeter's eyes were flecked with green. It was uncanny the resemblance between the two that it was obvious to any that laid eyes upon them that they were sisters.

"I see why you kept her hidden Hestia, she's a dear little thing isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. In fact, I hope you don't find me rude for keeping her hid –"

"Nonsense sister! I would have done the same to Kore if I had been allowed. Though she's not of your blood it's clear to see that she's yours. Now, let me tell you right now, it's the teenage years that you have to worry about. I'd suggest getting at least three Dryads to watch her constantly. We don't want this one getting stolen do we? And don't even get me started about when they go through their rebellious stage."

Faye was having a hard time comprehending the whirlwind that was Demeter and was beginning to wonder why she hadn't been named the Goddess of the Gab. Without even waiting for Hestia to respond to her the other Goddess had begun to ramble on about a multitude of subjects, switching from child rearing techniques to her opinion on cereal brands within a few breaths. Faye just couldn't keep up, and she had though that Iris was hard to understand with her eccentric quirks. She decided then and there that she owed Iris a serious apology.

Eventually Hestia manoeuvred the three of them out into the garden, Demeter not breaking in her conversation the entire time. The biggest difference between the two though was, Faye decided, the way they held themselves. Hestia held herself with softness and grace, while Demeter was a whirlwind of emotion and colour. It made Faye wonder what their youngest sister Hera would be like.

Faye was broken out of her reverie when a warm hand was placed on her shoulder and she glanced up to see Hestia smiling warmly down at her.

"You're doing well Faye." She whispered as Demeter began to rearrange the table to make sure that it was up to 'standard'.

"I haven't even spoken a word to her yet." Faye had quipped back, eyebrow raised as she looked on at Demeter's antics.

"Exactly. Not a word and she loves you already. Besides, you haven't pulled your hair out yet either have you?"

Chuckling under her breath Faye leaned into Hestia, melding herself into her side and basking in the aura of comfort that the Goddess seemed to always exude.

"Not from lack of wanting to, believe me."

At her words Hestia had pressed her mouth together in a thin line, her eyes sparkling with mirth as she attempted o stifle her laughter. When Demeter twirled around to face, her vibrant green dress fanning out around her, the two of them could hardly contain themselves and Hestia was quick to deliver a swift and firm pinch to Faye's shoulder as a reminder to keep her manners.

"You can come and sit down now. I reorganised everything, not to worry Hestia, it's all perfect now." Demeter told them matter-of-factly, arms crossed and a smug look plastered on her face. It was clear that she was quite proud of the way the table was now 'correctly' set for lunch.

"It's perfect sister, I couldn't have even dreamed of making a display such as yours. It is magnificent, you'll have to give me some tips." Hestia replied diplomatically, a soft smile gracing her lips.

God, Hestia was a smooth talker, no wonder none of her siblings hated her. She always seemed to find the good in others no matter who they were or what they did. For a moment Faye wondered how Hestia saw her. Did she see a mortal child with one too many quirks, yet still she smiled and loved her out of the kindness of her heart or did she genuinely like Faye? In truth Faye didn't want to know the answer.

The luncheon, in Faye opinion, went well, with Hestia and Demeter falling into comfortable conversation and both were happy to let Faye get a book out and begin to read. Though Hestia tried to include her in the conversation it was clear that Demeter valued the term that children were to be seen and not heard. It was slightly disappointing to Faye that it had turned out that way. But, no matter, according to Hestia Demeter had loved her and praised Hestia on her child rearing skills, stating that she was 'proud' her sister had raised a 'dutiful and studious' child unlike her own daughter who preferred to gallivant off with a ruffian.

Both Hestia and Faye had breathed a sigh of relief when Demeter had said her goodbyes. Faye was quite sure that Demeter was attempting to strangle her when she had nearly hugged the life out of her, either that or smother her to death with her kisses, Faye wasn't sure. When she had voiced such things to Hestia, after Demeter had gone, she had admitted that she was worried her sister might have broken one of Faye's ribs in her enthusiasm.

Faye had seen the joy that the meeting with Demeter had brought Hestia and for that reason she promised that she would always be on her best behaviour around the Goddess of the Harvest, she would please the woman if only to see Hestia smile. Hestia was her family and Faye would do anything for her family, she'd lost one and she wasn't going to loose her second.

* * *

Meeting Persephone was much like meeting the child of your parents' best friend. Faye knew that it was an expectation that the two of them got along. She had been terrified that the two of them would hate each other, that they would fight tooth and nail on every subject, or even be indifferent towards each other. Faye had to thank every God that was ever born when she met Persephone and they got along like a house on fire that had been doused in gasoline.

Demeter had been ever so excited when Spring had arrived and had begged Hestia to let her visit with Persephone, stating that their daughters 'had' to be the best of friends. When she'd introduced Persephone to Faye as Kore, she'd nearly spewed her tea out at the utter look of disgust that crossed Persephone's face. It was clear that if Faye was going to interact with the Queen of the Underworld Persephone would be the name to use, no matter Demeter's wants or desires. Thus, when Demeter had settled both her and Persephone at a separate table, since the 'adults' were going to talk, she had been clear to make it known to Persephone she was on her side in correct name calling.

The two of them sat at the table in silence for a few minutes, Persephone looking out contemplatively over the garden. She was beautiful, far more beautiful than Demeter, perhaps it was the way that she held herself, with a Queenly presence that demanded attention. With long black hair so much like her mothers fell in soft waves down her back and a pale red backless high necked dress that seemed to be made of gossamer fabric she made quite the picture. She felt utterly inferior in comparison, with her hair pulled back in two brads and her white dress with cherries etched along the edges. Faye fidgeted in her seat, waiting for the silence to be broken before she steeled her nerves.

"It's nice to meet you Persephone, I'm Faye, Hestia's ward. I hope that we can get along well."

Persephone hardly seemed to hear her words, her mouth twisting into a grimace as she heard her mother speak from across the garden at the other table.

"I'm going to kill her if she calls me Kore one more time." She muttered under her breath.

"Would you like help hiding the body?"

Faye decided that she should just dig a grave to save Hestia the trouble when Persephone snapped out of her reverie at her words, eyes widening at Faye's question. It seemed that she had stumped the Goddess of the Underworld thoroughly if her expression was anything to go by, so Faye decided to throw all caution to the wind and put the final nail in her coffin.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

Laughter spewed from Persephone's lips, and not dainty laughter either, actual honest to God snorts erupted from her as she laughed full bodily at Faye's question. Faye couldn't quite help the toothy smile that found its way on her face as she took in Persephone's happiness. This was a woman who was not afraid to laugh, who would not giggle behind her hand delicately and she adored her already.

"A definite yes. If you help I'm sure that Aunt Hestia will be happy to hide us."

"Excellent, I'll go get the shovel."

The two had shared a smile before erupting into laughter again. Faye wondered if Persephone knew that she had been partially serious about her offer. Anyone who didn't understand the perfection that was Hestia deserved to find themselves in a hole and it seemed Demeter's new favourite pastime from the sounds of it was pointing out everything that Hestia was doing 'wrong' in her opinion. Well, in Faye's opinion Demeter didn't deserve to have one.

It seemed that Persephone had warmed up to Faye after that, and offering to help someone hide a body was a great ice-breaker. Faye made a note to remember to use that for future conversation starters. The two talked for the rest of the day with ease. They spoke of their friends, their family and their hopes for the future.

"I want my mother and my husband to get along. I want to sit and have a dinner with them that doesn't end in a shouting match. I want to be enough that for once my mother looks at me pride and not regret." Persephone had whispered to Faye with such longing that it physically hurt Faye to hear.

"I want to be happy." Was all that Faye could say, because in truth that was all she really wanted.

In the end Faye decided that she was going to help Persephone in any way she could, she was going to prove to the Goddess that she didn't need her mother's approval to be happy and she was going to have some strong words with Demeter and Hades about putting their hatred for each other aside for the love that they both obviously bore Persephone.

* * *

A dinner was an easy enough event to orchestrate. A dinner in the Underworld that involved Hades and Demeter was not. It had taken months of planning and a lot of help from Hestia but Faye had done it. The only thing that she hadn't considered was that Persephone would insist on her coming to the dinner as moral support. She was meant to be seven for Gods sake, why Persephone wanted her for morale support she would never understand.

Hestia had originally been against the idea, informing Persephone that she would have to speak with her brother first. Faye had assumed that this meant she would get out of having to attend the dinner. She was wrong. Hestia had come back from the meeting with her brother with a blinding smile, informing Faye that she was happy for her to attend the dinner.

Thus, Faye had found herself being dressed accordingly for a dinner with the King of the Underworld. Hestia was all too happy to braid Faye's hair into two fishtail braids, entwining a red ribbon that shimmered orange and gold in some lights through Faye's hair. The dress she wore was a soft orange that she would have never been able to wear in her previous life. But, in this life, with her dark hair and dark skin she looked like a child born of fire. It wasn't just for show though, Faye knew a threat when she saw one and dressing her up in Hestia's colours was exactly that. It was a warning to Hades and all the other dinner guests, Faye was Hestia's and they weren't to harm her.

Faye had been taken down to the Underworld with Demeter who had grumbled the entire way there about how Faye would have to take note of Persephone's husband to know what she should avoid in a spouse in the future. Though Faye had to wonder whether Demeter needed glasses when she finally cam face to face with the King of the Underworld. Hades had to be the most drop dead gorgeous man Faye had ever seen, with pale skin, shoulder length dark hair, intense black eyes and a figure that many women would drool over Faye mentally patted Persephone on the back for her choice in husbands.

The Underworld was not what Faye had thought it would be. Faye had blushed dark red in embarrassment when Persephone asked if she had been expecting brimstone and fiery its of torture, because truthfully, a small part of her had. According to Persephone there was a time and place for brimstone and fiery torture pits and a family dinner was neither the time nor the place. That came after desert as Demeter had been all too happy to snark.

It was a beautiful visage, a large polished wooden dinner table that was set with one of the most elaborate feasts that Faye had ever set eyes on. Though Faye was sorely tempted to bolt for the door when she realised that no one was willing to speak, the silence becoming practically tangible and the tension mounting with every passing second.

"Charon wanted me to inform you that he desires a pay raise Lord Hades." Faye found herself saying and wondered if she had truly gone mad. She was meant to be a renowned phycologist, not some blabbering fool.

"Yes, he's been asking for one of those for a while. I'll have to decline his wish though; it just won't be possible at the moment." Hades had replied curtly, his voice firm, yet there was no hint of anger which made Faye sigh with relief.

Persephone, with the grace of an angel sent to save Faye from her own idiocy was quick to divert the conversation, introducing Faye to Hades as her cousin and Hestia's daughter. It seemed that Hades had already been previously informed of such facts, but he had nodded and focused his entire attention upon his wife anyways. It was beautiful to see. He was utterly devoted to her, even a blind man could have seen it and Faye hoped that Demeter would be able to see the love between her daughter and husband.

Unfortunately, Faye's hope was misplaced.

"Why Hades, I do wonder, if you can't even support your own employers how will you ever support my daughter?" Demeter had cut in scathingly.

And before Faye's eyes both Hades and Demeter began to trade scornful and mocking remarks, neither of them noticing the way that Persephone's smile fell from her face and that way that her eyes had become glassy. Faye hated both of them in that moment. She hated Demeter for putting her own selfish desires above those of her daughters and she hated Hades for not noticing the distress that he was putting his wife through. Faye had once had patients that suffered similarly to Persephone, having a fractured family life, being forced to choose between their own parent and their partner was neither easy nor fun.

"Shut up. Both of you shut up right now." Faye hissed out, she no longer cared about making a good impression or keeping one.

"Excuse me –"

"No, you are not excused Demeter. Can't you see what you're doing? Are both of you blind or just idiots? No, don't answer that, it was a rhetorical question. The both of you are so caught up in hurting each other that you don't even realise that the person you both love the most is dying inside because of your petty behaviour. Persephone, come with me, I believe you promised me a tour. You two, sort yourselves out, get some therapy, I don't care, but when I get back we will be having a family dinner with polite comments and happy smiles." Faye stood, walking over to Persephone and holding her hand out, breathing a sigh of relief when the young goddess took her hand and began to lead her out of the dining room.

Faye was trembling though with adrenaline or fear she didn't quite know yet. Hades face stony, not giving anything away to his opinion on Faye's words while Demeter had obviously been highly offended if her puckered lips and shrill shriek were anything to go by, regrettably for both of them Faye didn't care. So, tightening her grip on Persephone's hand Faye raised her chin stubbornly.

"Thank you." Persephone whispered as they began to walk down a dark hall.

Faye's breath caught and her throat felt tight as she squeezed Persephone's hand reassuringly. Persephone looked nothing like the Queen of the Underworld, or the vivacious woman who had traded jokes with her over tea. Instead, Persephone looked fragile, like a piece of glass that had been broken too many times and could no longer be glued back together.

"Don't thank me. I can't believe that anyone hasn't called them both out on their actions yet."

A choked sob escaped from Persephone and her voice trembled slightly. "All they ever do is fight…I love them both so much and it hurts more than I could ever explain to see them fight. It kills me a little inside."

It was a terrible situation to be in, made worse by the fact that they were immortal Gods. Persephone had lived through years of this and Faye had to wonder why she hadn't cracked yet. She certainly would have.

"I'm sorry this dinner didn't work out the way we wanted." Faye attempted to apologise.

A bitter laugh had left Persephone and she grimaced at the reminder of their original plan for a happy family dinner that would smooth things over between Hades and Demeter.

"Life never follows the plans that we make for it. It was wishful thinking anyways."

Sometimes life just wasn't fair, Faye decided that this was definitely one of those times. Persephone had set her hopes on the dinner making everything work out, perhaps this had been her last attempt to make the relationship between her mother and husband work. Faye didn't know, all she did know was that Persephone didn't deserve any of the crap that she was currently dealing with. Faye also know that Persephone was one hundred percent wrong if she didn't think it would one day work out. Because as much as Demeter and Hades hated each other, they loved Persephone so much more.

"No. No it wasn't Persephone. They'll come around, you'll see."

"What would you know Faye? You're a child." Persephone bit back furiously, ripping her hand away from Faye, her eyes narrowed and mouth twisted angrily.

Faye took a deep breath and reached for Persephone's hand again, gently tracing circles on the top of her hand. She was angry and she had every right to be. Faye was a child and she had to remember that unlike Hestia, Rhea, Iris, Artemis and to an extension Athena, Persephone didn't understand her brand of weirdness yet and perhaps she never would. It was a hard pill to swallow when a child spoke back to you, especially if you were a divine being.

"Yes, but I'm not blind. They love you more than they hate each other and that means that they're going to put you first, because that's what people to for those they love, they put them first."

Persephone softened at her words and she stared at Faye as if taking her in for the first time.

"You are rather wise dear cousin. Have you been taking notes from Athena?"

Faye chuckled and stared up at the ceiling. What was she meant to say to that? No Persephone, but I have been reviewing my previous cases since I'm very clearly a woman who died at the age of 54 and has been reincarnated into the body of the child. No, Faye didn't quite think that would go over well with Persephone one bit.

"Now, now, it wouldn't do for me to give away all my secrets."

Persephone laughed, a soft smile gracing her lips for the first time since Demeter and Hades had begun to fight and she squeezed Faye's hand tightly in her own. "Come with me cousin, I'll show you my garden, it's one my favourite places here."

In an interesting turn of events, Faye and Persephone never did go back to the dining room, staying and playing together in the garden instead where Persephone took joy in explaining numerous plants and their usages to Faye. They talked and Persephone had food brought to them, both of them silently acknowledging that neither of them wanted to go back and confront either Hades or Demeter. Eventually the calm atmosphere was broken when both Demeter and Hades walked into the room, both shifting uncomfortably

Eventually Demeter walked forward, stepping towards Persephone tentatively, as if she wasn't sure how to handle the situation she had been placed in.

"Daughter, I hope we are not interrupting."

Persephone's face gave away nothing; her face was a cool mask of complete indifference and Faye tensed. Faye had to wonder what the two of them wanted, coming into Persephone's garden and antagonising her when it was clear that at any moment the Goddess of Spring could snap.

"Not at all."

Demeter had taken a step back at her daughter's curt response, as if her words had physically hurt her. Perhaps they had. A small dark part of Faye hoped that they had, that Demeter now understood even a small fraction of the pain her daughter felt.

"I…I have been remiss as of late to your emotions and opinions and for that I can never forgive myself. I am so very sorry my dearest, I do so want us to be a family and, well, both Hades and I have agreed that these dinners should happen more often, at your behest of course." Demeter's voice shook and she wrung her hands together. It was certainly a change to the headstrong woman that Faye had met previously.

At Demeter's words Persephone had stiffened, her eyes widening with shock and her mouth parting slightly. Slowly, Persephone's posture had begun to soften, her shoulders relaxing and her stance becoming less aggressive as she stared at her mother. Clearing her throat Persephone finally responded to her mother, her words tentative and unsure.

"Thank you mother; your words are appreciated."

Before Demeter could say another word Hades begun to step forward before he stopped, unsure of where he currently stood with his wife.

"Beloved wife, I too must beg your forgiveness for my atrocious behaviour as of late, I shall do my best to not act so appallingly in your presence again."

Persephone and Hades stared at each other and silence overtook the room as all the occupant waited with bated breaths for Persephone's response. Faye couldn't help the soft smile that tugged at her lips, especially when Persephone smiled genuinely at both her husband and mother. With one last squeeze to Faye's hand Persephone moved over to Hades side, reaching out a hand for him to take which he took with the utmost care.

"All is forgiven husband. Now mother, I do believe it is time for cousin Faye to go home. Aunt Hestia will be worried if we keep her any longer."

"Of course daughter."

Demeter was quick to agree with her daughter's request, not questioning her once as she crossed quickly over to where Faye stood, yet still refusing to take her eyes off of Persephone.

"Thank you for having me Persephone." Faye thanked Persephone and very nearly lost all of her ability to breathe when Persephone let go of Hades hand to walk over and engulf Faye in a bone crushing hug.

"You are welcome any time cousin." Persephone whispered in Faye's ear before kissing her cheek and returning to her husbands side.

Taking a deep breath Faye locked eyes with Hades and prayed that she hadn't completely made the Lord of the Underworld loathe her. Hestia wouldn't be too happy about that and neither would Persephone.

"Lord Hades, thank you for inviting me to dinner, it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Faye had said, keeping her voice steady and her words polite and very nearly had a heart attack when he didn't answer for at least four or five minutes, instead choosing to stare at her, his piercing black eyes seemingly staring into her very soul.

"Uncle." Hades words cut through the silence which caused Faye to jump nearly a foot in the air.

Uncle. Had the Lord of the Underworld really just said uncle? Was that code for the floor to open up and swallow her or for skeletons to appear and drag her to the deepest pits of Tartarus?

"Pardon?" Faye managed to squeak out.

Hades had rolled his eyes at her question as if he was wondering whether she was stupid. It was highly likely that he was. Faye was only sure of one thing; and that was that if she wasn't completely terrified out of her mind currently she would have slapped his condescending look of his face.

"You will address me as Uncle. I expect you to attend dinner the same time next week, the invitation is also extended to your mother."

He wanted her to call him uncle, Hades, the Lord of the Underworld, wanted her to call him Uncle. Faye was waiting for the punchline to make itself known, she just couldn't wrap her head around what was currently occurring and could only nod in agreement to his demand, because it definitely wasn't a request.

"I–Thank you Uncle, I will see you next week then." Faye said, finally regaining control of her voice.

A sly smile made its way onto Hades face as he stared down at her and Faye realised that perhaps she had begun to play a game that she didn't even know the rules too and was so much bigger than she would ever understand.

"Yes, I expect you will."

Demeter was quick to say her goodbyes before ushering Faye to her side. The trip back to Hestia was mentally exhausting as Demeter refused to even look at Faye, keeping her gaze firmly ahead. When the two of them finally reached the cottage Faye breathed a sigh of relief that the awkwardness of such an adventure was over. Faye was never going anywhere without either Hestia or Artemis ever again, those two would never let her do anything stupid of that she was sure.

Hestia had welcomed the both of them inside, offering Demeter tea as she thanked her sister profusely for caring for Faye. Faye's eyes widened to the size of saucers as Demeter made a sound that should have come from a wounded animal before breaking down. Hestia was quick to wrap her arms around her sister as Demeter began to babble into the crook of Hestia's neck about how she was a horrible mother, that Persephone would never forgive her. The Goddess of the Harvest bawled and sobbed her heart out and Faye could only stand in the hallways in absolute shock.

Gently Hestia brushed her sister's hair from her face and began to usher her into the sitting room, looking back to Faye before indicating that it would probably be best if Faye went to bed until Hestia had helped Demeter. Faye was all too happy to comply with Hestia's demands, she'd had enough drama to last her the rest of her new life.

Faye forced herself to stay up the entire night, fighting sleep. So, when Hestia finally slipped into her bed to hug her goodnight she wrapped her arms around Hestia tighter than she ever had before. Because she adored Hestia and she truly couldn't thank her enough with words alone.

* * *

 _Dear Faye,_

 _It is most pleasant to hear from you. I have been well, though very busy, but that is to be expected. Iris must have quite the soft spot for you to refuse payment, you must tell me how you both met one day. Though, I must say I agree with her. I believe that we will be good for each other in some ways. By the way, your quote is from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Pick a harder one next time._

 _Kind Regards,_

 _Athena_

 _P.S_

 _'But these great minds cannot avoid doing extraordinary things!'_

* * *

 **Thank you chello baby, Death Fury, xenocanaan, OTrizy, FieryWaters, CHARA ATE MY SOUL and Trotticus for your reviews! You guys are amazing!**

 **So, we have finally met a God: Hades. Well done FieryWaters for guessing correctly! I hope you guys like how I portrayed him. And we also have the introduction of Demeter and Persephone.**

 **I'm sincerely sorry for the wait and I hope that this chapter was worth it even a little bit.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, those wonderful books belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Nine

 _Dear Athena,_

 _Thank you for replying to my letter, I understand that you're very busy so it means a lot that you wrote back so swiftly. I hope you're not overworking yourself. I've been well, though school is becoming rather boring and repetitive. To explain to you how Iris and I first met, I must first confess to having a terrible sense of direction. Unfortunately, while on an outing with Rhea I wandered off and got lost, thankfully I stumbled across Iris's store and she looked after me until Rhea came to pick me up. It's rather funny looking back on it, but at the time I couldn't have felt more stupid. Also, the quote you chose comes from Clarissa, or, the History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson. Why don't you pick a harder one next time?_

 _P.S_

' _I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me.'_

* * *

Faye had awoken with a scream in her throat and Hestia's arms around her. The sheets were tangled around her legs, constricting her movement. Cold sweat ran down her back and her heart felt as if it would jump out of her chest as she fought to control her breaths.

'Shhhhh Faye, it was just a dream. It was just a dream my sweet one." Hestia soothed as she had pressed kisses against the top of Faye's head.

She couldn't find it in her to respond as she reached up to tentatively touch her neck. It had been so vivid. Large hands had wrapped tight around her throat, jagged nails digging into the soft skin at the back of her neck as she fought to breathe.

Faye had felt a sharp throb in her spine from where the man had shoved her up against the wall and smelt the stench of sweat and smoke that clung to the man. His features were indistinguishable as his face seemed to blur before her eyes, his hair never staying a single shade of brown, constantly changing. Bile churned violently within her stomach and her mouth felt as if someone had shoved cotton balls inside of it. The mans hot breath tingled against the shell of Faye's ear as he leaned in towards her, sending shivers down her spine.

"Bitch." He had whispered to her, his voice deep and guttural, slurring due to the alcohol that was hot on his breath.

It had all been so real. Too real.

Her stomach churned and her eyes burned as tears threatened to spill over. Her hands shook as she had reached up to touch her neck, cautiously tracing her fingertips across the soft skin.

"Faye," Hestia spoke softly, as if speaking to a creature that was about to run away, "would you like to talk about it?"

Faye felt as if someone had dumped a bucket of cold water over at those words. She closed her eyes, took two deep breaths and counted back from ten. It wasn't real, it couldn't be real. It was just a dream. A vivid dream that had left her clawing at her throat and gasping for breath.

"No."

She had replied harshly and as soon as the word had passed her lips she wanted to take it back, to tell Hestia everything. But, she couldn't. She couldn't find the words to explain, perhaps she didn't want to. Either way, Faye had to witness the flash of hurt that passed over Hestia's face at her refusal. Before the Goddess had nodded her ascent.

"It's your decision Faye. It's always your decision."

And with those words Hestia tentatively loosened her hold on Faye, as if she was unsure whether she was allowed to even touch her. Bile built in Faye's mouth and she turned in Hestia's arms, putting her back to her before pushing off her arms. She hated herself for pushing her off, for refusing Hestia's love and affection. But, she couldn't accept it, didn't want it, Faye knew that she was attempting to self-destruct and wasn't that a beautiful thing. To know what you were doing to yourself and not changing a thing. She didn't want to deal with the ramifications of that dream and she certainly didn't want to talk about it.

* * *

When Artemis had arrived only a few days after the nightmare incident with a quiver of newly fletched arrows and a bright smile Faye had felt as if the weight on her shoulders had disappeared.

For the last two days both Hestia and Faye had been walking on eggshells around each other, both not quite understanding where they stood with the other. Hestia was still stung from Faye's rejection and Faye just couldn't, for all of her knowledge about psychology, find a way to explain to Hestia how she was feeling. Hell, she didn't even know how she was feeling.

Suffice to say that Faye had jumped at the chance to get out of the house for a few hours. Faye had unfortunately forgotten how much of a slave driver Artemis was when it came to archery. So, after four consecutive hours of attempting to shoot arrows Artemis finally called for a break.

Sweat had soaked through the plain grey shirt that she had been wearing and Faye's arms ached from shooting. While the inside of her left arm, even with the leather guard Artemis had gotten for her, stung slightly due to the bowstring snapping back against her. As soon as Artemis had mentioned taking a break Faye had decided to sit on the ground in a huff, lying back against the grass utterly spent. It was without a doubt the hardest workout she had ever had in this new life and perhaps even her old one.

Faye broke out into a grin, staring up at Artemis as she stood over her, not even having the energy to lift her arm and shade her eyes. Her arms felt like lead and she was sure that by the next day she would be sorely regretting letting Artemis train her.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a slave driver Artemis?"

At her words Artemis laughed, tossing her auburn hair behind her shoulder as mirth danced in her eyes.

"You haven't been practicing have you? Your stance was alright considering you only have lessons once or twice a month, but you really should be practicing while I'm away. When you become one of my Hunters I want you at my side in every hunt and you'll have to be able to shoot for that." She said as she began putting equipment away.

"I've been a little bit busy lately." Faye grumbled as she tried to work herself into a sitting position only to give up halfway and crash straight back down onto the ground.

Addressing the Hunter comment would do nothing but add fuel to the fire Artemis was trying to build. It seemed that in the last few months Artemis had gotten the idea in her head that if she spoke about Faye becoming a Hunter as if it was already set in stone that she might suddenly wake up and decide to become one.

"And what exactly have you been busy with Faye?"

Artemis had questioned as she made herself comfortable on the ground behind Faye before lifting Faye's head into her lap and massaging her temples. Faye could have sworn she had died and gone to heaven as Artemis's hands massaged her neck and shoulders. Her eyes fluttered closed at Artemis's ministrations a sigh escaping her lips. It was like all the tension in her body was being leeched from her.

"Well, I met Persephone and Demeter...and Hades. In fact, Hestia and I are going to dinner with both him and Persephone tomorrow night." Faye replied tentatively, her stomach flip-flopping at the thought of how Artemis might react to Faye's newfound 'family members'.

Thankfully Artemis did nothing, only continuing to knead her fingers into Faye's sore muscles, causing Faye to flinch when she found a knot and began to work it out. A soft moan escaped her lips and she softened under Artemis's hands, her head lolling back into her friends lap.

"Do you need me to come with you?"

The words were spoken casually but Faye knew the weight that they held. Artemis was offering to go down to the Underworld, the realm ruled by Hades without any invitation or inclination that she would be treated with respect just because she thought Faye might want her to. Might need her to be there.

"No, we should be fine. Will you be staying the whole week?" She questioned, letting her eyes close as she relaxed against Artemis.

"Of course." Artemis had said with such indignation, as if her leaving wasn't even an option, that Faye broke out into giggles.

After a few moments her laughter subsided and she leaned back into Artemis's lap. The grass was tickling her calves and resisted the urge to sit up and scratch. Faye was too comfortable to move and she knew that if she did she would never get into the same position again. She felt safe in Artemis's lap, safe enough that she was sorely tempted to try to go to sleep, to see if the nightmares would come with her nearby to chase them away.

"Faye, are you alright?" Artemis suddenly asked, he voice quite, as if she was scared to ask the question and unsure whether she truly wanted an answer.

"Why wouldn't I be alright?" Faye replied back, raising an eyebrow up at her friend.

Did she seem different; she didn't think that she had acted any differently than usual when she had greeted Artemis in the morning. Or, had Hestia perhaps spoken with her beforehand, had warned her that there was something wring with Faye that she refused to speak of.

"You seem," Artemis begun, as if unsure of whether she wanted to continue, "off."

"I'm fine."

It was Hestia all over again, her short curt response leaping from her lips before she could say another word. She waited for the flash of hurt to fill Artemis's face, for her to fly into a rage for her rebuttal.

"Liar." She had said, so matter-of-factly that it was as if she had commented that the sky was blue.

It was a statement that held no anger nor heat. But it made her wonder if that's all she was. A liar. A woman living a lie, pretending to be a child, to be innocent to the world when in truth she was anything but that. Faye tried to remind herself that she didn't outright lie to Hestia, she just danced around the truth or ignored the question, it didn't help her conscious one little bit.

A sigh escaped her and Faye sagged against Artemis, as if all the endorphins from the exercise had left her body. "Fine. I'm not alright, but I just can't talk about it at the moment."

Faye waited, holding her breath unknowingly, wondering when Artemis would snap. Saliva pooled in her mouth and she swallowed loudly. Faye didn't know if she could handle the anger of both Hestia and Artemis at once, it would be too painful.

"That's alright." The words came out in a whisper and Faye stared up into her friends beautiful silver eyes looked down at her with nothing but love and acceptance and Faye had to choke back a sob.

"It's alright Faye." Artemis continued, her hands once again threading through Faye's hair gently, as if she was calming a wild animal. "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine, but when you do I'm here."

In that moment all Faye had wanted to was sit up, wrap her arms around Artemis and break down sobbing. She wanted to tell her everything to confess what a mess she was, that her sanity was fraying at the edges and she had no clue what was a dream or a memory.

Instead, all that came out was a whispered 'thank you' that caused Artemis to smile down softly at her before leaning down to brush her lips against Faye's forehead.

"You're my best friend Faye. My only best friend. I'll always be here for you."

Artemis's words resounded in Faye's head like and echo, a reminder that she was important, that she was loved and needed. Sitting up rather violently, nearly head-butting Artemis in the process, she threw her arms around the little auburn haired Goddess, nestling her head into the crook of her neck. Artemis was her best friend and though Faye might not be a very good best friend, she was going to try to be, she was going to be better, for Artemis, for Hestia, for all the other Gods that made up her little family. Currently though, it was a work in progress.

* * *

Dinner with Hades and Persephone was very different from the first dinner that Faye had been to with them. The biggest difference being that Demeter had not been invited to attend, Hestia having taken her place. The entire atmosphere seemed to change when the Goddess of the hearth and home walked into the Underworld. Persephone, after throwing herself at Faye and smothering her in kisses, had enveloped Hestia in a hug that seemed much more natural than any that she gave her own mother. Hades had even offered a small smile to his sister and allowed her to embrace him, even squeezing Hestia's shoulder in return to her affection.

Once again Faye felt the need to dig herself a very large, very deep hole and bury herself. Guilt worming its way into her heart as she realised that though Hestia was smiling and acting as if everything was fine her smile didn't seem completely genuine.

"So, are you enjoying school Faye? Obviously I never went, but Athena sometimes attends university lectures and she informs me that they are highly invigorating mentally." Persephone asked as they sat down for dinner.

Faye had to quench the urge to groan at the question. School, her current dreaded nemesis along with her nightmares. Her face must have shown her absolute loathing of the subject since Persephone giggled behind her hand at her expression.

"School is rather dull and Athena would be right in telling you university lectures can be 'mentally invigorating', but it really does depend on the subject. Primary school on the other hand is a completely different topic."

Before Persephone could get another word in dinner was brought out and Faye nearly lost herself in the beauty of the food, chicken, roasts, lamb, beef, every meat that could be thought of was laid out beautifully, still steaming hot and tender on the table along with sauces, salads and an array of foods that Faye didn't know the names too. Suddenly Faye was very upset that she didn't properly get to experience an 'Underworld' dinner thanks to Demeter last time.

After the expected compliments about how the food looked they all began to eat, with Faye blushing as she helped herself to a large serving of chicken. She felt like a caveman among kings, the grace with which each of the three Gods ate putting her own table manners to shame. With any of the other Gods Faye could ignore it, but Hades was an entirely different matter, his eyes cutting through her very soul when she knocked her knife onto the ground by accident.

As soon as the dinner appeared to be finished Persephone, who had been conversing with Hestia all through dessert, the two of them constantly whispering in each others ears, stood up dragging Hestia with her.

"Darling, I'm going to show Hestia the gardens, the two of us haven't been able to speak privately in a while and I'm desperate to catch up. Would you care for Faye while we're gone?" Her words were sweet, but Faye could already sense the double meaning behind Persephone's words, she wanted to have alone time with Hestia and didn't want any disturbances. Not even from her beloved husband.

The two Goddesses left the room without saying another word, Hestia only glancing at Faye for a moment before quickly averting her eyes. Faye's heart clenched and she clenched her hands, her nails digging sharply into her palms.

The click of the doors closing behind Hestia and Persephone signalled that Faye and Hades were now alone in a room together and Faye's guilt and worry associated with Hestia was quickly replaced with nervousness. The tension seemed palpable in the air, and neither Hades nor Faye spoke for what felt like hours, but was most likely only a few moments.

A soft sigh escaped Hades lips and Faye stiffened, swallowing hard as a bead of sweat ran down the back of her neck.

"I do believe that my wife wishes for us to use this time to...bond" Hades said with distaste..

Bond. Persephone wanted Hades and Faye to bond, Hades had practically ordered her to call him Uncle, that was quite enough bonding for the two of them in Faye's opinion. She believed Hades shared her sentiments.

"And how exactly does she want us to 'bond' Uncle?" Faye questioned tentatively, not taking her eyes off of Hades.

The withering look that Hades sent her after her question made Faye want to disappear, either that or suddenly combust, both could work. Closing his eyes as if the action might bring him patience Hades stood up from his seat and began walking towards the door. Following Hades every movement Faye had to wonder if he was just going to leave her in the dining room with all of the food, if he was she surely wasn't going to complain.

"Come." The command cut through the tense silence that had formed in the room and Faye raised her eyebrow in response to Hades.

"I think you're missing a word there, Uncle, I thought we were meant to be bonding." Faye remarked and she very nearly choked when the words flew from her mouth as she waited for Hades to smite her where she stood.

Instead Hades just sighed disdainfully, as if he had lost all his patience, if he ever had any to begin with, to deal with anyone let alone some annoying mortal child. Turning to face her properly, his face an emotionless mask, Faye shivered.

"Please." The word was deadpan and held no sincerity, but Faye practically leapt from her chair and walked as fast as her little legs would carry her until she stood beside Hades.

Without any warning he began to walk, his long strides matching at least four of hers and Faye was out of breath by the time they had turned the second corner. They continued to walk for a few minutes and Faye's head spun as she tried to keep track of the way that they had gone.

"Where are we going?" Faye eventually questioned, she had fallen behind a few times and each time Hades had slowed his stride for for a few steps to let her catch her breath before continuing on at a fast pace.

Turning around towards her his perfectly manicured eyebrows raised in annoyance. Faye had to wonder whether he plucked them or waxed them…they were to perfect to be natural. Then again she reminded her, most of Hades was. In fact, a small part of Faye hadn't at all minded walking behind him the last few minutes, his derriere was perfection.

"Must you question me?"

In response to his question she quirked her lips upwards cheekily, shrugging her shoulders. It really wasn't her fault that he had taken her on a hike through the underworld with no proper explanation. Then, too quickly for her to comprehend, Hades stopped causing Faye to careen into the back of his legs. Grumbling under hear breath, Faye glared up at her dear 'Uncle', this had to be some form of child abuse.

"I seem to recall that children like dogs." Hades said, his velvety voice cutting through her complaints.

She realised then, that the corridor had changed slightly, opening up to become a small room. A gasp escaped her as she took in the large black female dog with searing red eyes that had to be the size of at least a grizzly bear or rhino. Though within a moment her shock turned to elation.

"Puppies" Faye cooed and stepped towards them.

A litter of five beautiful black mastiff puppies tumbled around on the floor. Three were play fighting, while the other two climbed over their mother adorably. At her gasp they had turned to look at her, big red eyes looked up at her, their tongues lolling out and tails wagging. The mother glanced at her momentarily before deeming that Faye was entirely unthreatening and not even worth her time, which may have had to do with the fact that Hades was standing right beside her.

"They're Hellhounds. You may play with them if you wish, but do not run crying to my wife or your mother if one of them bites you." Hades drawled, and conjured himself a seat, though it would be more accurate to call it a small throne, seating himself upon it like the King he was.

Faye loved baby animals, and there was no stopping her joy as she slowly sat down and scooted over to the litter of puppies. Within a few minutes the puppies had decided that Faye was the best toy in the world as they climbed all over her and playfully nipped at her fingers.

The two of them sat there for at least two hours undisturbed, completely in a world of their own. It was calming and certainly not an experience that Faye had ever thought she would share with Hades. But, for all of his implied annoyance and indifference towards her, Hades continued to sit upon his chair, never letting Faye out of his sight.

"If you find canines so endearing the next time you come for dinner you will have to keep Cerberus entertained, he rather likes playing fetch and it will keep you entertained."

At the sounds of Hades voice, Faye nearly jumped out of her skin in fright. She had grown used to the silence and it had been good for gathering her thoughts, a part of her wished she could have stayed in that small cave surrounded by Hellhound puppies forever. Animal therapy, in Faye's opinion, worked a thousand times better than human therapy, at least it always had for her. Though, as she digested Hades words she came to realise that he was offering exactly that. Hades was offering for her to play with more animals, specifically Cerberus, the three headed dog of the Underworld that guarded the entrance and apparently liked to play fetch.

"Thank you Uncle." Faye found herself murmuring as she cuddled one of the puppies close to her chest, gazing up into his eyes, trying to discern exactly what his motivation behind offering such a wonderful opportunity was. Faye discerned nothing.

"Perhaps, if you show enough initiative and responsibility, you may have one of the puppies if you like. They need to be at least 10 weeks, but afterwards, with Hestia's permission, you may have one." Hades drawled

A puppy, Hades was offering her a puppy. Faye could have hugged him if she wasn't sure that the moment she did she would have ceased to exist.

"It is not because of any compassion that I offer you one, I am doing this to appease my wife. Nothing more." Hades continued to speak, as if he didn't know the sheer amount of joy his words had given Faye.

She must have sat staring up at Hades for minutes because only when he cleared his throat, indicating Faye was meant to acknowledge his opinions and sentiments did she snap out of her thoughts, looking up to him in wonderment.

"Of course." She she replied, a small smile creeping its way onto her face as Hades nodded his head and stood up, vanishing his chair.

"Come now Faye, your mother awaits and I grow tired of your company."

At those words Faye scrambled to her feet and reluctantly patted the puppies' goodbye. Then, without any other word Hades began to stride away from her causing Faye to run to catch up with him, cursing him under her breath the entire way a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips all the way.

* * *

It was late when Hestia and Faye arrived home, Hestia bending to gently kiss Faye's forehead, her eyes never leaving the floor before whispering a soft goodnight. Faye went through her bedroom routine sluggishly before finally collapsing into her bed, attempting to roll herself up like a burrito within the blankets.

Unfortunately, all thoughts of sleep and staying wrapped like a burrito were dashed when Faye felt someone lie down in her bed, pulling at her blankets until they covered them as well causing for Faye to growl in response to the thievery and pull back against the blanket culprit.

"Give me some more blanket you hog." Came the muffled response of Artemis when Faye once again tried to wrench the blanket from her.

Grumbling Faye relinquished her blanket, pouting the entire time. At Artemis's snigger she new that the Goddess was enjoying annoying her far too much. Faye nearly fell out of the bed when Artemis pressed her cold feet against her calves in an attempt to warm them and within second the two of them were giggling into their pillows.

The two girl lay in bed facing each other catching their breaths and in that moment Faye felt vulnerable, she felt young and innocent. She felt carefree, as if all of her problems had disappeared. Faye wanted to talk to someone, she wanted to open up, even it was just a little, and who better she reminded herself than Artemis, her best friend who adored her and loved her. Also the same girl who turned people who annoyed her into animals, but she had never so much as threatened Faye with such a fate since their friendship had begun. And, after nearly two and a half years of knowing her Faye was confident that if she ever was threatened it would be an empty one.

Finding Artemis's face in the darkness she scooted closer to her until she could nearly perfectly make out her features, her silver eyes glowing as if they were stars. Swallowing she wet her lip, trying to figure out what she was even going to say. Artemis had sensed the atmosphere, had stopped giggling minutes ago and seemed to be holding her breath lest the slightest movement spook Faye.

"Artemis," the word came out croaked and Faye had to take a moment to steady herself emotionally and mentally before continuing, "I'm a terrible person."

The silence was deafening and Faye could feel the walls press in around her, suffocating her. Artemis was going to agree, of course she was, or if no she was going to tell Faye she had no clue what she was talking about. That she was seven and she hadn't had the chance to be a 'terrible person' yet.

"Why do you think that?" She had whispered back, her face was a mask, showing absolutely nothing.

"Because." Faye began and just couldn't seem to figure out what to say after it, refusing to meet Artemis's eyes.

Because I think I've done things in a past life Faye wanted to say. Because I wake up screaming in a sweat nearly every night because of a past I can't properly remember. Because I stupidly promised Hecate that I would give her whatever she wanted if she kept my memories of my past life in my mind and I've just realised I should have let them disappear. Because maybe Faye Edwards wasn't a good person and had done a lot of bad things and that's why she had been put in a body that wasn't her own.

"Because," Faye continued, "I think I've hurt Hestia."

Because Faye wasn't ready to tell her the truth and she had hurt Hestia and she was sorry for it, so it was a rather good excuse. She startled as she felt a warm hand touch her shoulder gently and glanced up to again meet Artemis's eyes

"How could you have done that?" Artemis questioned as if the idea that Faye could hurt Hestia was utterly impossible in her opinion.

At that Faye felt a small smile twisting at her lips, it was kind of Artemis to have such faith in her. To believe that she could never hurt the woman that had very quickly become akin to a mother figure to her. Or perhaps Artemis still didn't quite grasp the concept of remorse when you hurt someone you loved anymore.

"She asked me about something and I told her to leave me alone." Faye told her, it was simple, the truth and it gave nothing away.

Artemis didn't seem to mind her rather dodged answer too much, in fact Artemis's face seemed to have softened slightly at her response taking on a curious expression. It was as if she didn't quite understand how Faye's rejection of talking to Hestia had created in her head the idea that she was horrible.

"So, you didn't want to talk about it. That doesn't make you a horrible person Faye." Artemis said bluntly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Faye's stomach churned violently at Artemis's words. She didn't understand, hadn't seen the way that Hestia's face had fallen and become closed off, how she now worried she was constantly overstepping an invisible boundary between the two of them when Faye hadn't even realised erecting one. Faye wanted the uncertainty gone, the guilt that both of them felt.

"You didn't do anything wrong Faye; you may have said the words a bit harshly," Artemis continued to say, "and as much as I hate to admit, you have a right to your privacy. Besides, I'd bet she's more worried than upset."

Faye's mouth fell open at Artemis's words and she reached out towards her friend to grasp her hand tightly. Artemis squeezed back reassuringly, the soft smile on her face barely visible in the dark.

"We all make mistakes Faye, I've made a few thousand of them. We learn from them, we have to." She said, her words gentle, understanding.

Artemis had done terrible things, monstrous things. Faye had read about them in the books Rhea had written for her. But, there was a distinct difference between herself and Artemis. Artemis was a Goddess, a divine being who would live forever, who could forget the mistakes she made after a few hundred years. Faye was a human, a blip in existence and her mistakes would haunt her to her grave.

Wetting her lips and swallowing the saliva that had gathered in her mouth Faye whispered to Artemis tentatively, unsure she wanted to hear the answer that Artemis would give. "Do you ever wish you could go back and change just one thing?"

"No." There was no pause, not a moment of consideration, Artemis was so sure of her answer, so sure of herself.

The two of them were silent for a while, neither wanting to address Artemis's response to the question. Faye had so many regrets and she dearly wished she could change them, that she could be a better person, and if she was to believe her memories, to change the person that she once was. It annoyed her that Artemis couldn't see that some of the actions she had done in the past should be changed, atoned for, but perhaps that was what made Artemis, Artemis. Her ability to be so sure of herself, to be filled with a confidence that Faye envied. Eventually, unable to handle the silence between the two of them Faye changed the topic to archery, something that Artemis could prattle on about until the end of time. That in turn lead to a subject that Faye had wanted to address for awhile but had been hesitant to bring up.

"Artemis," Faye began, breaking Artemis out her rant about how one should never focus on just the short bow, but also practice with a long bow, "you know how you've been teaching me archery these last two years?"

Artemis nodded in response to her questions, the furrow between her brows made it clear that she was not at all happy at being interrupted and that in her opinion Faye's rhetorical question was rather annoying.

"Well, I'd like for you to teach me how to use it in combat, how to fight, to protect myself." Faye said quickly. She knew it was better to get the question out quickly rather than slowly, just like ripping off a band-aid.

The indignant squawk that Artemis made to the question nearly had Faye falling out of the bed and she was sure if it had been asked while they were both standing up the Goddess in question would have made a big deal of stomping her feet and crossing her arms in outrage. Faye was sure that since meeting her Artemis had become more prone to dramatics than she had been before. Their friendship had brought a shared childishness to the both of them that was not exactly a good thing.

"Why would you want that Faye? You know that I'll never let anything happen to you, that I'd tear apart anything that hurt you. You don't need to learn how to fight when you have me" Artemis fumed, and if it hadn't been for the fear in her eyes, the undisguised love and adoration, Faye would have been furious.

Artemis gripped onto her hand like it was a lifeline that she was afraid Faye would be wrenched away from her. Faye reached out with her free hand, gently running it up and down her friends' arm in an attempt to calm her, squeezing her hand back and making no attempt to remove herself from Artemis's tight grip.

"I know," Faye began softly, "but what if you're not there? Besides, I want, no, I need to do something. If I can vent some of the emotions I'm currently feeling through exercise I'm sure that I'll feel heap better. And wasn't it you who wanted me to become one of your Hunters?"

Faye would have crossed her fingers, but, being unable to do so, settled for crossing her toes instead in the hopes that Artemis would listen to her. She knew she had practically won the argument as soon as she brought up Artemis's desire for her to become on of her Hunters. It was an underhanded thing to say, but it would get her what she wanted.

Fortunately, she was correct in her assumptions, since as soon as the last few words had escaped her mouth Artemis had turned a dark red, eyes going wide in wonder as her mind jumped to conclusions. Faye knew that she shouldn't have given Artemis false hope, but if it got her the training she needed to keep herself going, to survive in this dangerous new world filled with Gods and monsters, she was willing to let Artemis take her words however she wished. Faye had made no promises, only using Artemis's own desires against her.

"Well, I suppose if you insist." Artemis stuttered, a bit taken aback.

"I do." Faye was quick to respond, a smile curling her lips up.

It would be excellent to know how to shoot arrows at moving targets, to be able to use it in the defence of herself and also to vent her emotions that writhed and churned within her gut. After all, as one of the favourite movies of one her daughters had once stated, exercise created endorphins and endorphins made people happy, being a psychologist Faye knew how exercise could help positively impact people and from her previous life, exercise had been her reprieve and outlet, hopefully it would be the same in this one.

"Then, I am honoured that you have chosen me to teach you how to defend yourself Faye. We'll begin lessons tomorrow and I'll organise a training routine for you. Now, you must tell how your dinner with Lord Hades went tonight." Artemis told Faye, her grip around her hand loosening and her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Faye nearly laughed as her friend smiled widely back at her, she wondered what she should tell her about Hades exactly. Should she tell Artemis of the way he watched her, as if he wasn't quite sure was to make of her or do with her. Should she tell Artemis the the Lord of the Dead loved his wife so much he was willing to extended an olive branch to Demeter, who had insulted and belittled him if only it made her happy. Instead she settled on what she believed to be her favourite part of the dinner with Hades.

"It went well…he offered me a Hellhound puppy after they're weaned and asked if I would come and play fetch with Cerberus." Faye whispered to Artemis playfully, expecting for her friend to accuse her of lying or even be stumped in disbelief.

Instead Artemis's face seemed to grow purple at the thought of Hades offering her a Hellhound puppy and her playing with Cerberus. It was as if she believed Hades was trying to steal her away like he had Persephone, which Faye had been told by Persephone was entirely inaccurate, she had ventured to the Underworld herself and refused to leave. Poor Hades would be in for a shock that was for sure if he ever spoke to Artemis. Faye couldn't help the giggles that erupted from her as Artemis's face went through a myriad of expressions each more hilarious than the last.

"He offered what?! No, no, no. I forbid it! No. Now stop laughing at me." She told Faye, her voice getting louder with each word she spoke.

Her words only caused Faye to laugh harder and Artemis to grow redder, as she informed Faye she 'had' to stop laughing. Oh, Artemis was too much for her to handle sometimes, too quick to anger, too quick to embarrass. But, she was oh so easy to calm down Faye had found. Artemis responded to bluntness, to the truth, and if done so correctly, could loose all of her anger as quickly as it was created.

"Oh for goodness sakes Artemis, you can't forbid me from doing anything. You're not in charge of me. Now calm down. I'm not laughing at you without reason, you blew up quicker than a balloon attached to a helium tank, but I'd much prefer to be laughing with you."

At her words Artemis pouted, like a child that had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Which only caused Faye to bite her lip in an attempt to keep from laughing at her friend again. Though Faye knew that she wasn't angry with her, the tight hold on her hand let her know everything she needed to.

"Fine." Artemis replied petulantly, and moved closer in the bed to Faye until their noses were only a few centimetres apart.

"Oh stop being so grumpy. You'll be known as the Goddess of Grumpiness soon." Faye retorted sticking her tongue out at Artemis.

Artemis's mouth twitched at her words and soon the two of them were laughing with each other, the world was right again and it was as if the heavy conversations they'd had only moments before was forgotten completely. The both of them attempting to quiet the other one, trying not to be too loud lest they woke Hestia and got into trouble. Faye stuck her hand over Artemis's mouth in an attempt to prevent her friend loud laughter which echoed around her room loudly, inciting her own giggles.

Unfortunately, Artemis had grown up with a twin brother and knew all the tricks to get a persons hand off of their mouth, namely licking it. So Artemis had no qualms at all in slobbering all over Faye's hand, which she quickly wrenched away with a squeal.

"Urghhhh, Artemis, you're disgusting." Faye complained, wiping her hand on Artemis's arm before the two of them broke out into laughter and the fight for the blankets once again began.

* * *

 _Dear Faye,_

 _Touché, you constantly surprise me, let us hope you never cease to do so. Your quote may be found in the book 'The Outsiders' by S.E Hinton. A terrible sense of direction must be swiftly fixed, I have sent with this letter a set of books on navigation and geography, hopefully they will aid you as you endeavour to have a better sense of direction. It is intriguing and admittedly quite humorous how you came to meet Iris. Perhaps you could tell me some more entertaining stories as I quite enjoyed your last one. It has been terribly dull lately and work is never-ending. I hope you are safe and well._

 _Kind Regards,_

 _Athena_

 _P.S_

' _Light a candle instead of cursing the darkness.'_

* * *

 **Thank you WelcomeToTheLoser'sClub, chello baby, A Week of Sundays, Death Fury, FieryWaters, xenocanaan, lululillie, theriz35, Shadowing, Raider500 and pendore59 for your reviews, you guys are are why this chapter was written!**

 **I am so sorry for not having this chapter out sooner, real life has been super busy with major event after major event. Hopefully the next few chapters will make it out relatively faster. Also, just so you all know this story will be split into three Arcs. The First Arc will deal with Faye and her relationships with the Gods (and also delving into the mystery behind why she is in a book universe), the Second Arc will delve into the PJO books and I'm pre-warning everyone now, Faye is going to change some things, the Third Arc (which will also be the last) will deal with HoO books and will conclude this fanfic.**

 **I cannot explain how thankful I am to the amazing reviewers, follows, favourites and kindness that you are all showing me. Thank you so much! Seriously, a part of me is kind of waiting for you all of you to turn around and tell me that it's a joke and that you all hate it.**

 **I am so happy that you enjoyed 'Uncle' Hades chello baby :) and don't worry WelcomeToTheLoser'sClub, I freak out a little every time I write his name too.**

 **FieryWaters, thank you for bringing that up! You are incredible! I was originally going to go with the idea of her writing everything down, but I thought that if she was technically loosing her memories she would also be loosing the emotions and feelings tied with those memories. Faye, being the character she is would take that as 'loosing herself', as 'loosing Faye' if that makes sense. By keeping her memories she stays 'Faye', she doesn't become someone who's just reading memories of their life everyday (and she surely would have missed something :P). Sorry if that didn't make sense, but thank you so much for asking! I loved answering this question :)**

 **Shadowing, your comment made me laugh so hard! I love the harem comment! One of my friends who I discuss this fanfic with told me the exact same thing and it's so true about the Greek Mythology thing, I'm definitely going to tell you now as Faye gets older the rating on this story may change because of this. I also have to inform you that this fic will include mentions of yaoi and yuri.**

 **Raider5000, Percy and Faye shall meet and their stories will cross, though it'll take awhile since I want to delve into the relationships Faye will gain/already has with the Gods, Faye is going to make a lot of changes in the PJO (and eventually Heroes of Olympus) series, she just needs to get in a position to make them without getting blown up. Also, Faye is seven years older than Percy (she's actually the same age as Luke Castellan). I can promise you that Faye will be meeting Percy properly when he is fourteen, though there may be a few cameos here and there before that.**

 **Anyways, thank you again everyone (I'm sorry if I say that too much and if this authors note was too long).**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, those wonderful books belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Ten

 _Dear Athena,_

 _That's a tricky quote, it's been debated upon quite extensively who spoke it first, some say it is an Ancient Chinese Proverb, Confucius or William L. Watkinson, to name a few. But, since we are talking about book quotes I can be confident in saying that your quote can be found within the book, 'This is my Story' by Eleanor Roosevelt. Also, thank you very much for the books, I'll take good care of them and I'm sure they'll be very helpful. I have to wonder, what do you get up to when you aren't working? And also, what does work consist of for you? Would I be right in believing that it involves a lot of paperwork about the current political and global climate? If you ever have an afternoon spare you should stop by for a pot of tea. I have to go to school now, but I promise to tell you an 'entertaining' story in my next letter._

 _-Faye_

 _P.S_

' _The same substance composes us–the tree overhead, the stone beneath us, the bird, the beast, the star-we are all one, all moving to the same end.'_

* * *

The nightmares were getting persistently worse. Where Faye had once been waking up in a cold sweat, drowning in her sheets, she now awoke with a scream, tears marring her cheeks and bile in her throat. Hestia holding her tightly to her chest and whispering words of love and affection.

Faye had thought that the nightmares had died down slightly, since for the few days that Artemis had stayed over they had been non-existent. But that was most likely due to the fact that she had practically passed out in her bed at the end of every day after receiving a harsh training session courtesy of her best friend. Unfortunately, not days after Artemis had left, the nightmares had come back swiftly, worse than they had previously been, completely and utterly destroying all her attempts at sleep.

She remembered his hand holding her face, his fingers digging into her cheek painfully. Faye remembered the taste of the nicotine that he had forcibly breathed down her throat through her lips and the weight of the memories broke her apart, shattering her from the inside. Faye felt like she was drowning in an ocean of memories, the undertow of the waves dragging her under, drowning her.

It wasn't healthy, the lack of sleep, the inability to tell her dreams from reality, absolutely none of it was healthy. She had to speak to someone about them, to fix whatever was wrong with her. Unfortunately, the only person that Faye knew that could possibly help her was Hecate. So, she crossed her fingers and sent a prayer up to anyone that might listen that Hecate wouldn't ask for anything too extravagant in return for her aid.

So, after nearly two weeks of coming to such a decision, Faye was graced with Hecate's presence. She had drawn Faye to her late at night, dragging her out of the house and into the small forest that the cottage backed onto. Faye wondered if she would ever get used to the way Hecate 'called' for her like some prized dog, and how Hecate always seemed to have no care for what Faye might have been doing at the time when she 'requested' her appearance. Then again, perhaps she was becoming too lax, too used to the Gods that she dealt with and the leniencies that they gave her.

Of course, this time Faye was extremely grateful that Hecate had arrived. In fact, she had nearly broken into song and dance when she realised that the Goddess had arrived. Hecate's eyebrows had nearly risen to her hairline when Faye released a large sigh of relief upon seeing her and if Faye had been in any other situation then she would have laughed at the look of sheer astonishment that graced the beautiful Goddesses face.

"Well, well, well. What's got you so happy to see me? Have you finally chosen to take me up on my offer, finally seen them for the monsters that they are?" Hecate purred.

Faye was torn between raising her eyebrows due to fact that she had actually purred or frowning because Hecate seemed determined to constantly ask whether she was ready to leave behind her home. She was never leaving, they were her family and as powerful a Goddess Hecate was she needed a brain transplant if she thought differently.

"Firstly, I'm not leaving and secondly, they are not monsters." Faye said, rolling her eyes when Hecate tutted, her lips pursing in annoyance. "Lastly, we have a problem."

At that Hecate had scoffed, loudly, a manicured eyebrow raised as if daring Faye to restate her last sentence.

"You're right. I'm sorry, I have a problem."

A smirk graced the Goddesses face as she stared down at Faye, lips curled into a predatory smirk, she knew that she held all the cards, that at any moment she could refuse Faye and leave her to her problem. For a moment Faye's breath caught in her throat and she was reminded of what a God really was, a being with incredible power and flippant desires. A dragon that pretended to be a snake, though truthfully both were terrifying opponents

"Well then, what is it that ails you little mortal?"

Faye wondered how she was meant to explain this, was she meant to tell her about the nightmares, was she meant to explain how her own memories made her want to shatter a mirror because the face staring back wasn't her own or perhaps she should stress the fact that her memories had her waking up screaming and gasping for air.

"I'm remembering things." Faye whispered, the words escaping from her before he had the chance to dissect them properly.

At Hecate's obvious dismissal of her problem, Faye realised that she probably should have worded it slightly better. The grass under her feet was wet and she felt as if the cold was seeping into her very bones, shifting from foot to foot she wondered how she could possibly salvage the mess she was making of the situation.

"I don't see how that is a problem, shouldn't you be thanking me?" Hecate snapped back at her, the harshness in her tone seemed to spark something in Faye and before she could stop herself she was biting back.

"Not if they have me waking up screaming." Faye replied, contempt dripping from her voice.

This wasn't what she had signed up for, she had signed up to die, to move on, not ot be give a second chance that had her loosing her mind one minute and then having night terrors the next. She was angry, at the world, at herself and Hecate seemed to know just what buttons to push to bring that out in her.

"Well go on then, smite me for talking back like you're threatening, get rid of me! Because I don't know if I can stand it anymore." She spat, stepping closer into Hecate's personal space, crowding the Goddess, baiting her.

Hecate's face flushed in such a pretty way that Faye felt the innate desire to claw her face off, when normal people got angry their faces got blotchy, but of course a Goddess would be perfect in all that she did.

"I have never threatened you–" Hecate began, her voice dripping with poison.

"No, not with your words certainly, but you think I don't know that you can, that you will when you grow tired of me. You don't understand. I don't know where I fit in this world. I didn't want to come here, you stupid Gods brought me here, forced me here. You say I shouldn't stay with Hestia, that my family will turn on me because I'm not one of them. Well, I'm certainly not some normal human am I? I died Hecate, I died and now I'm alive and it hurts. It hurts knowing I had children that I left behind, that I had an abusive partner at one point, that I have already studied and now I don't even look like myself. I have nothing of me left except my name." Faye's words broke off in a croak and she wiped the tears angrily from her face.

All of her pent up thoughts and emotions on the topic had spilled out violently and when her knees buckled and she kneeled on the cold grass she made no move to get up. Wrapping her arms around herself, sobs wracked her frame and she wondered if this was going to be the moment Hecate got rid of her, she hoped Hestia wouldn't be too hurt by it all.

When she felt a hand touch her shoulder she flinched, refusing to look up at Hecate and face her wrath, call her a coward but she couldn't find it within herself to care anymore.

"I'm sorry." The words were barely above a whisper and if the words hadn't practically been breathed into the shell of her ear Faye would have been sure she had imagined them.

Looking up as she realised that Hecate had come to crouch on the ground beside her, the Goddesses dress pooling around her like an inky black shadow. The hand resting on her shoulder moved to her head and began to slowly stroke her hair.

When she opened her mouth to say something Hecate was quick to raise her other hand, resting a finger against her lips gently. Then, with a care she was sure that Hecate had not possessed she cradled Faye's face within her hands, rubbing her thumbs in circles on Faye's temples.

"…You will meet me here tomorrow night. Do not be late." Hecate finally said, standing up and holding her hand out to Faye to help her up which she took with a soft 'thank you'.

The Goddesses face seemed to soften for a fraction of a second before her mouth curled into its usual smirk. Gently pushing Faye towards the house she turned around and disappeared into the darkness, as she was prone to do and leaving Faye alone with the therapeutic feeling of relief at being able to unload her thoughts. She wasn't rid of her anger and the pain, but screaming it out to Hecate had definitely helped. Maybe she would have to jokingly pay her a few drachma next time she let her vent, if she ever lived to do so again. Quickly wiping her face she ventured back towards the house and crossed both her fingers and toes that Hecate would come up with a solution.

* * *

The next night couldn't have come quick enough for Faye and she practically thrummed with energy when she walked out that night long before Hecate even 'called' for her. With her feet encased in a pair of thick fluffy ugg boots and wrapped up comfortably in a warm coat. Twisting a strand of her brown hair around her finger she huffed when it filed to still her nerves and began to plait the strand in an attempt to take her mind off the way her stomach was churning. She knew if she looked in the mirror that there would be black circles under her eyes and that they would be blood shot from the lack of sleep, not something a seven year old should be dealing with.

"So this is your new project." Someone whispered behind her.

Faye squeaked and jumped nearly a foot in the air, stepping back in fright and falling upon her bottom. Swivelling around to see who had spoken Faye was met with the sight of Hecate, decked out in her usual black, and beside her was a tall man in a long black coat, his grey hair was cropped short and as Faye tried to make out his features in the dark she realised that she couldn't. The Gods face shimmered before her like a mirage, it felt like she was looking at him through a distorted piece of glass, able to make out his features, but nothing certain. The only feature that seemed to appear 'normal' were his eyes, a piercing blue that took her breath away.

Hecate scoffed, startling Faye from her gawking. When the Goddess raised an eyebrow in her direction she scrambled up, brushing away any dirt from her bottom and the backs of her thighs. Faye tried not to feel too self-conscious

"She's more like a pet." Hecate replied to the other God finally, dragging her eyes away from Faye to gaze coolly at her companion.

"Of course she is." The God replied, though his words sounded sincere something about how he said the words made Faye think that though he had acknowledged Hecate's denial he didn't believe it one bit.

Practically thrumming with energy Faye took that as her cue to speak. Summoning up all of her manners and courage she directed her entire attention towards Hecate, bowing her head in submission when the Goddess deemed to notice her, her lips curved slightly upwards at Faye's sudden diminutive attitude.

"Good evening, thank you for helping me Lady Hecate. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance Lord…" Faye begun, her voice trailing of when she realised that she had no clue who this mysterious God was.

"Morpheus. There is no need to call me Lord, I am not as attached to the old ways as some."

And with his words everything clicked into place, the inability to see his face, the reason he was there. Who better to chase her nightmares away than the God of Dreams himself. A scoff from Hecate broke her from her reverie and she turned her attention to the Goddess that was standing there, hip cocked, eyebrow raised defiantly towards Morpheus, questioning him.

Faye had to hand it to Morpheus, he handled the attention of Hecate brilliantly, refusing to acknowledge her scoff or the way that her lips curled distastefully when he kept his attention on Faye.

"Now, I have heard your tale of woe from Hecate, but, I would like to hear it from you." His voice was soft, and Faye realised why people in romance novels had their voice likened to silk and velvet.

Morpheus's voice made her want to curl up in a ball and go to sleep, to shut her eyes and fall away from the world, to drift away into the sweet release of sleep. A sigh escaped Faye, as her eyes slowly shut and her shoulders relaxed. She very nearly jumped out of her skin when Hecate interrupted the moment, her voice sharp and controlled in comparison to Morpheus's.

"I told you, she has nightmares, fix it. You have no need to know anything more Morpheus." Hecate told him curtly.

Morpheus seemed indifferent to her actions, looking expectantly down at Faye, waiting for her response. Swallowing the saliva that had pooled in her mouth, Faye clenched her hand together tightly, her nails digging into her palms harshly.

"I do have nightmares Lord Morpheus, terrible ones that I can't talk of for fear that they might become real. They leave me screaming and I don't know what to do. I can't sleep."

The God continued to study her, not saying a word and Faye was sure that she had forgotten how to breathe. She knew now was the time when he would deny her, refuse Hecate's request, telling them both that he would neither intervene nor help.

"I will take these nightmares away from you young one."

"You will?" Faye questioned incredulously a smile creeping onto her face, she had been ready to kill for a good nights sleep and now one was being offered to her by a God, she wasn't sure if he was playing with her emotions or was actually going to help her.

"Like he has a choice." Hecate spat, eyes trained on her fellow God, narrowing into slits when he stepped around her to get closer to Faye.

Morpheus stood before her, taking in her features languidly before humming in affirmation, though of what Faye had no idea.

"Yes, I will visit you once a week child and will give you the gift of sweet and pleasant dreams until you leave this world. I will have to talk with Hestia about it, and when she introduces us you must not let it be known we have previously met." He told Faye and she knew that if she broke these rules she would surely never have a good nights sleep ever again, he was her one chance and she would do anything he asked to keep herself sane.

"Yes Lord Morpheus."

Hecate stepped closer to the two of them, standing slightly off to the side, but close enough that if she wished she could easily step between them. Perhaps she wanted to make sure that if Faye somehow annoyed Morpheus she would get the first shot in.

"You must not make mention of me, you understand that don't you little mortal. And do drop the titles, they do so make me weary."

"Yes…Morpheus." It was hard to use his name without his title, she had drilled it in herself that she should keep the formal titles of Gods that she did not know. And though she felt no animosity from Morpheus towards her, she was wary and very worried what the outcome would be if she put one-foot wrong.

The God didn't touch her like Hecate did when she used her magic, but she felt it, she felt it deep within her very bones that something was happening, was creeping beneath her skin, into her skull and altering her very being. Within a moment the feeling was gone leaving her feeling warm and light, as if something that had been very wrong had suddenly been made right.

"You are someone that will be remembered long after you are gone from this earth Faye Edwards. You are going to rattle this universe to its' very core. It will be a pleasure to get to know you." Morpheus whispered, the tone of his voice and his expression indecipherable.

Then, without another word he seemed to melt into the darkness before her very eyes, disappearing much the way Hecate did. Turning said Goddess Faye took in the troubled expression on her face, her eyes looking deeply into the space that Morpheus had just vanished into, gnawing at her lip as if suddenly very unsure of herself.

"Hecate?" Faye questioned softly, causing for the Goddess to startle, looking at Faye as if she had seen a ghost.

In a split second Hecate's smirk was back on her lips, the look of trouble disappearing effortlessly from her face.

"What, no 'Lady Hecate' now that the other God is gone?" She questioned Faye sarcastically.

A small giggle escaped Faye at Hecate's words and when she looked up and met Hecate's eyes she noticed that the Goddess appeared to be holding back her own laughter at the situation. A mortal and a Goddess, both strong willed and unbent, both damaged, yet both bound by something so much greater than either of them could imagine.

"Thank you." Faye said, trying to convey in those two words how thankful she really was, how much she appreciated Hecate's help.

For a moment she was sure Hecate would respond, but the Goddess seemed to think better of it, instead scoffing loudly and muttering under her breath about Faye being a 'brat' before disappearing, much like Morpheus, into the night.

* * *

When Faye padded out into the kitchen that morning she couldn't stop smiling, the sheer weight of of her nightmares had disappeared off of her shoulders leaving her feeling light and free. Hestia sat at the table, a fresh stack of blueberry pancakes with steam still coming off them sat in the middle of the table, while teapot and jug of water sat off to the side of it.

Tentatively, Faye sat down at the table, glancing up at Hestia in confusion. She waited for it, for Hestia to drag the food away from her and demand answers, to tell her that this was her last meal in this house unless she told the truth. Faye was waiting for the disapproving look of anger, regret, betrayal and hate. Instead all she saw when she looked up at Hestia was love. Complete and utter love and she couldn't help it when her eyes began to water and she had to break eye contact with the Goddess before she burst into tears.

"I hope you like the breakfast darling, I thought blueberry pancakes might be a nice this morning." Hestia said, smiling warmly towards her.

Without needing anymore convincing Faye dug in, taking two of the piping hot pancakes and digging into them, pouring freshly melted chocolate which had appeared out of nowhere over them decadently. Gosh breakfast was her favourite meal of the day and when Hestia cooked breakfast there was nothing better. Faye would happily sell her soul to continue eating Hestia's pancakes.

The two of them seemed to lull into a comfortable silence, with Hestia nibbling on her own pancakes, while Faye practically wolfed them down like a caveman, her appetite returning in full with a proper nights sleep.

"Recently Hades and I have spoken in lengths about you." Hestia stated and Faye in that moment questioned the Goddesses sanity. Using the words 'Hades' and 'spoken in lengths about you' in the same sentence was a good way to cause Faye to have a heart attack.

"About me?" Faye squeaked, her fork coming to a halt midway between her mouth and her plate.

"About you and the puppy that he offered you." Hestia replied, a twinkle in her eyes that clued Faye in on the fact that Hestia knew exactly how close she had just come to having Faye rushed to a hospital for a heart attack.

"I've decided that if you so wish it a puppy would be a very agreeable addition to this household." Hestia continued, a mile creeping onto her face as Faye's face began to smile probably like a crazy woman. "There are rules Faye. You must care for it, bathe it, feed it, clean up after it and walk it. It is a big responsibility."

Faye was nodding along with every single one of Hestia's points, her mind whirling a hundred miles and hour. She was going to get a puppy, an adorable Hellhound puppy and she could hardly contain her happiness. No nightmares, good sleep, a great breakfast and a puppy, Faye didn't know how her day was going to get any better.

"I know. I'll take good care of them, I won't let you or Uncle Hades down." Faye told Hestia, practically bouncing in her seat with excitement. She may have been a sixty-one-year-old woman mentally, but she would have liked to see anyone else act differently.

"Good. Hades has informed that if you so wished, we might go this afternoon and you may have the pick of the litter."

Without thinking Faye dropped her fork onto her plate, got off her chair and practically threw herself in Hestia's arms. The Goddess's arms tightened around her, as if she was afraid Faye would suddenly jerk away from her or disappear and Faye's heart broke slightly at the realisation.

"Thank you Hestia." She said, her words coming out muffled while Hestia squashed her against her neck.

"You're welcome my darling. I am so happy to see you smiling again." Hestia whispered into her ear and Faye's breath hitched at the sudden realisation that she hadn't apologised, hadn't begged this beautiful and amazing woman for forgiveness yet.

"I'm sorry." Faye croaked out, nestling closer into Hestia's needing, wanting, the reassurance that she wasn't suddenly going to get kicked out of the house and Hestia's life for being such a rude childe and a complete fuck up.

"I know." Hestia's words were barely above a whisper, one of her hands coming to rest on the top of Faye's head, slowly stroking her hair in an attempt to reassure her.

"Are you mad?" Faye questioned, the fear gripping her tightly, her stomach tying itself in knots over the possible answer that she was about to hear.

"I was."

At that Faye let out a small sob, burying her face even deeper into Hestia's neck, breathing in her scent. Gods above she was lucky, so very lucky to have Hestia. Hestia had given her a family, a home, she had given her a reason to live rather than just survive through another day and she didn't know if she could ever love another being in this second life of hers more than Hestia.

'Faye, I want you to know that you don't have to tell me anything. You're are entitled to your privacy and though I love you dearly that does not give me the right to force such things out of you. But, I have had word from another God who may be able to help you with your nightmares, if he is deemed trustworthy I shall introduce you and hopefully your night terrors will disappear." Hestia told her, her face the seriousness in her voice conveying to Faye that she would stand by her words, that she would respect Faye's decision for privacy.

More importantly, from Hestia's words Faye had figured that Hecate and Morpheus's plan had worked. She didn't know whether to applaud the both of them or be annoyed that they had managed to manipulate Hestia into doing what they wanted her to do.

"Thank you." Faye said, turning her head to kiss Hestia's cheek in thanks, snuggling closer into the Goddess and savouring the sense of safety and security she provided.

"I love you Faye." Hestia told her, though Faye didn't know why, she knew Hestia loved her, she showed her that she loved her by forgiving her and putting up with her entirely stupid shenanigans.

"Now," Hestia began, pulling away from Faye slightly, smiling at her widely, " let's go get that puppy."

* * *

"Are you sure this is the one?" Hestia asked yet again as Faye cuddled the puppy to her chest.

The small puppy was neither the largest of the litter nor the runt. But, the puppy had been in love with the idea of slobbering all over Faye as soon as she had sat down. Faye had originally played fetch with the puppies for a little, settling them before she sat down for cuddles with them. The puppy had crawled into her lap almost instantly, its little back legs kicking wildly as it tried to scramble up onto her unlike the others that had played around her. The puppy had then decided that Faye was its new best friend, lavishing kiss after slobbery kiss on any part of Faye that it could get to.

"Positive" Faye replied, the smile that had broken across her face when the puppy had assaulted her refusing to leave her face.

In response to the lack of attention the puppy in question shoved its head under her hand, begging for more pats.

"And what name will you give her niece?" Hades asked, his eyes narrowed and Faye knew this was a test of some sort, that this name had to be absolutely perfect.

Looking down at the sweet little thing in her lap she gathered the puppy up into her arms, cuddling the puppy to her chest which she happily nestled into.

"Lady." Faye said, refusing to take her eyes off of her new best friend, Artemis would not be happy to meet her competition, Faye would have to make strict rules regarding Lady in the future, she just knew it.

Persephone, who was sitting on the ground close to Faye stopped patting the Hellhound puppy that she had been paying attention to, focusing her attention entirely on Faye. Shuffling behind Faye, and stretching out her legs so that they framed Faye's small form, Persephone rested her chin on top of her head. Looking down at the puppy that was firmly clutched in Faye's hand.

"Lady?" Persephone questioned curiously.

At that Faye had to giggle, leaning back against Persephone so that she could no longer rest her chin against her head, looking up at her with a large smile on her face.

"Because she's going to be very well behaved, like a lady, and I do so love the movie the Lady and the Tramp." Faye said causing for Persephone to giggle.

The smile already on Persephone's face grew wider at Faye's admission and the Goddess wrapped her arms slightly around Faye being careful not to disrupt Lady. Persephone's long hair tickled Faye's bare shoulders as she leaned in closer to her and she giggled along with her, utterly content. The two of them stayed like that for what felt like hours, wrapped up in their own world while both Hestia and Hades watched them. And, in that moment, everything was perfect. But, alas, nothing can stay perfect forever.

* * *

 _Dear Faye,_

 _Well done Faye, and you are very welcome for the books, let me know when you would like some more. The quote you chose was from Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers. Work consists of a lot of things for me, paperwork is one such thing. The current political climate is always important in my line of work and I may be free sometime in the next few months. I will let you know when I am free and shall expect that pot of tea. I look forward to my entertaining story._

 _Kind Regards,_

 _Athena_

 _P.S_

' _Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience- or give it a more fascinating name, call it hope.'_

* * *

 **Thank you .Random, WelcomeToTheLoser'sClub, Sabrina987, xenocanaan, pendora59, digreg, chello baby, Death Fury, Angelicsailor, FieryWaters, OTrizy and ephemeral-times for your reviews! You guys are amazing! Here's an extra long chapter to say how sorry I am for making you all wait.**

 **.Random: I'm so happy to be making you worried…is that bad of me? All I'm going to say, is that Faye is going to make some mistakes that are going to come back to bite her big time later on throughout this story. But that's the aim I want to show with this fanfic, that people make mistakes, they fuck up and so do the Gods, neither are perfect.**

 **WelcomeToTheLoser'sClub: I'm so happy that you're enjoying so far, and I hope you like Lady and how the relationships are continuing to evolve.**

 **xenocanaan: I love the way their dynamic is going too, in my opinion he definitely likes teasing her, teasing and testing her, he's waiting for her to slip up. He's one of my favourite Gods, so expect quite a bit of screen time for him, especially in later questions.**

 **pendora59: Thank you so much! Yes, Faye does now have a Hellhound to call her own and thank you so much, I wanted to have a type of OC I hadn't really seen yet and put them in a situation I hadn't read about yet. In the PJO fanfiction a lot of the OC's are demigods or gods themselves and I have nothing against that, but I thought, why not a human who can see through the Mist, who might just wrap some very important/powerful characters around her very mortal fingers.**

 **digreg: I'm not saying anything about pairings yet, but I love this idea I'll admit! What I will say is that whoever Faye chooses to have a 'relationship' with, some of friendships she has are going to become strained, if she chooses one person then another might get cranky and vice versa. If she does choose a human or demigod to have a relationship with let's just say that the Gods are not going to be super duper happy.**

 **chello baby: No, they are not good nightmares at all, but they do play into a big fact that they have made Faye into the person she it today. And Hecate is always smug, I just love her so much. Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy this one just as much as the last.**

 **Death Fury: Thank you! And it is debated whether it is a Chinese Proverb,** **Confucius or William L. Watkinson or Eleanor Roosevelt. Well done!**

 **FieryWaters: I was so worried I hadn't and thank you! I'm really trying to get a correct characterisation for Hades, I mean, he's definitely going to become a silent supporter to Faye while he is also just waiting for her to annoy his wife or step out of line. And I really hope you likes this chapter.**

 **OTrizy: I will definitely be doing a Hestia and Persephone POV soon, like you said, it would be interesting to see a POV from any of the Goddesses, and in a few chapters you should expect to see a few chapters in the Gods POV's. I just hope I do them justice.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, so we have the introduction of Lady (because we all know she's now the most important character in this fanfiction) and Morpheus. I hope that I have done them justice. Also, hint for my readers, Faye will be getting one more pet later on in this series, does anyone have any guesses? And, we will be having a very interesting meeting next chapter, any guesses?**

 **I am so sorry for not having this chapter out sooner, real life has been super busy with the end of semester and just life in general. Also, I'm thinking of going back through all my chapters and fixing any spelling/grammatical and tense mistakes soon, just a warning if you see things saying 'updated' or something.**

 **Lastly, would you guys prefer me to stop answering the reviews at the bottom of the page? I can answer them in PM's if you guys would prefer.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this. I hope everyone has an awesome week!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, those wonderful books belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Eleven

 _Dear Athena,_

 _Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility. That was way too easy. I look forward to you coming to tea this week. I do so miss your company; letters just sometimes do not do our conversations justice. Since your schedule has been rather busy I shall tell you that I gained Lady through the grace of Lord Hades. I was invited to play with a new litter of Hellhound pups and Lord Hades must have taken pity on me perhaps for e offered me the pick of the litter. I chose Lady, she is the most beautiful pup you shall ever meet and I cannot wait to introduce the both of you. She is very polite and well mannered much like her namesake. Now, I must ask a question of great importance. What is your favourite colour or colours? Artemis loves the colours white and silver unsurprisingly. My favourite colours are green and red. But, I don't like a bright forceful red, the red I like is more of a deep red with tones of purple through it. I don't even know if that's an actual colour. If it is would you be able to tell me the name of if?_

 _-Faye_

 _P.S_

' _We were the people who were not in the papers. We lived in the blank white spaces at the edges of print. It gave us more freedom. We lived in the gaps between the stories.'_

* * *

Hestia had warned Faye that she would be meeting someone who would be able to help around lunch time, so for nearly the entire morning whenever Faye was alone she was practicing her best surprised face. She knew her acting could be subpar at best on occasion and truly, lying to Hestia was one of the last things she ever wanted to do.

So, when lunch time had rolled around Faye found herself attached to the lounge, anxiously plaiting pieces of her hair and gnawing on her lower lip.

"Now," Faye heard Hestia saying as two people walked into the room, "be kind to her, please. I don't know if I need to remind you, but both Artemis and Persephone have taken a rather strong liking to her."

At those words Faye wanted to bury her face in her hands. Hestia was name dropping. She was threatening Morpheus, who in Faye's opinion was even more harmless than Iris. The two of them had come to stand in front of the couch that Faye sat upon, Hestia making sure to position herself in between Morpheus and Faye like a shield.

"Of course Lady Hestia, though, may I be so bold as to say if you are going to 'name drop', as they say these days, perhaps you would have better reactions if you dropped the names of Lady Rhea and the Lady Athena."

At his words Faye heard a sharp intake of breath from Hestia and she saw the Goddess straighten, her eyes sharpening to slits. And, in that moment Faye was sure she had seen the true face of evil, because the punishment that Hestia's expression promised if Morpheus stepped so much as a millimetre out of line was sure to make even Lord Hades weep and beg for forgiveness.

"If you speak a word of this to anyone Morpheus–" Hestia began, her voice sharp and cold in comparison to its usual warmth, stepping forward, invading Morpheus's personal space.

The God that had been completely immovable around Hecate actually took a step back, his hands coming up as if to placate Hestia. Ice filled Faye's veins as she took in the scene, Hestia with her eyes burning with a fury she had never seen before and look on her face that spoke of suffering and death.

"Please Lady Hestia, I of all people understand the need for discretion. I swore the oath as you desired, I mean your daughter no harm. You have broken no laws and if what I have heard is true about her having so many Gods wrapped around her fingers I should fear for myself lest I get caught up in her web."

"My daughter does not weave any webs Morpheus." Hestia spat, venom dripping from her voice.

"Of course, a slip of the tongue." Morpheus replied and even though his features were blurred Faye could see that his eyes wide, as if he wasn't quite sure that the Goddess before him really was Hestia.

Hestia seemed to soften at his words, but her stayed locked on Morpheus. Finally breaking eye contact first he turned to Faye, a small smile forming on his lips, at least Faye thought it was a smile, it could have just been her imagination.

"You must be Faye," he said, offering Faye his hand to shake, stepping closer to Faye after looking towards Hestia for permission. "I am Morpheus, the God of Dreams and I have heard so much about you from your mother."

Taking his hand Faye shook it in greeting, giving it a small squeeze, trying to convey to Morpheus that Hestia really wasn't all that bad and she definitely wasn't like this usually.

"Hopefully Hestia hasn't said anything too incriminating." Faye joked, trying to ease the tension.

"Not at all, I've heard only positive things. But, I have heard that you have been having some problems with nightmares."

Faye didn't know what to say in response, did she agree with him, as how much he knew. How was she meant to react to this? She didn't want to act to comfortable around Morpheus, but hadn't she been at ease around him the first time she did meet him? Faye crossed her fingers that her acting skills were up to par.

"Yes, Lord Morpheus, I have been having terrible nightmares."

At her words Morpheus sighed softly, before kneeling down in front of her, reaching out to grasp her other hand. Beside them Hestia shuffled from foot to foot, never taking her eyes from the two of them.

"Please, Morpheus will do just fine, I would have you see me as your friend Faye."

"It would be an honour Morpheus." Faye replied, rocking on the balls of her feet, unable to prevent the smile from appearing on her face.

Even with his features being blurred, Faye was able to make out the smile that graced Morpheus's face. His hands reached out to capture her own, drawing circles on the tops of her hands with his thumbs.

"Well then, this should be a simple fix. If you would be so kind as to stand still for a moment." Morpheus said and Faye stopped rocking on the balls of her feet, her entire face going as red as a tomato as she muttered an apology.

Standing as still as a statue Faye waited, she wondered if Morpheus really would use his magic, or if perhaps there was no need since he had only used it on her when she first met him. The answer to her question came in the feeling of calm washing over her and much like before, it seemed to creep through her very being, slowly, like a heavy fog. When it stopped, Faye could have sworn that she could was floating. It was like being cleansed from the inside out and she loved the feeling of it, a part of her wished she could tie Morpheus to her and have him administer the relieving, euphoric feeling upon her that his magic created.

"Is that all?" Hestia asked, her voice breaking through the spell that Morpheus had woven, jolting Faye back to reality.

"Yes Lady Hestia, though I shall have to visit once every week to be sure that the spell sticks until at least three years have passed, by then she should be able to be weaned slowly."

Morpheus's words shocked Faye and she worried her lower lip between her teeth. Three years of weekly visits to be able to sleep at night, to not be haunted by dreams. She feels like a drug addict and the thought makes her want to throw up, she doesn't want to become dependant on Morpheus to survive. But, the memories that she has to face if she denies his help, his offer of sweet release are much too frightening and Faye is a coward in this sense and doesn't voice her refusal.

"Once a week?" Hestia questions, her tone sharp, as if she is expecting for Morpheus to change his treatment plans.

A small part of Faye hoped that he would. That perhaps Morpheus would suddenly decide due to Hestia's fierce expression he might just say that he was bull shitting them both and she only needed to see him every six months, hell even every month would have been better than weekly.

"Once a week."

Obviously weekly visits were non-negotiable.

Hestia sighed heavily and she moved to stand behind Faye, her hands coming to rest on Faye's shoulders. All the tension seemed to leak out of Faye and she breathed in the scent of fresh sugar cookies and fire that always accompanied Hestia. There were very few things that Faye knew for certain in her new life. But, one of the things she did know was that if Hestia was by her side she would be alright in the end.

"Well I can't thank you enough Morpheus, it will be wonderful to be able to get a good nights sleep again." Faye said, smiling brightly at Morpheus in thanks.

With a grace that all the Gods seemed to have, and that Faye was utterly jealous of, Morpheus got to his feet. Hesitantly he had reached out and brushed a strand of hair behind Faye's ear, and even with his blurred features Faye was sure he sent her a wink.

"You're very welcome Faye, it was my pleasure. I think I shall take my leave now. Lady Hestia."

And with that Morpheus left with a bow to Hestia and a smile to Faye. After he had left Hestia's shoulders softened, the hands that had held onto Faye so possessively loosening slightly. Faye honestly didn't care and turned around in Hestia's hold, wrapping her arm around the Goddesses waist, thanking her over and over for finding her someone to help with her nightmares. In the back of her mind but, Faye wondered if Hestia would have asked Morpheus for help without Hecate's interference. She realised after a few minutes of pondering that she didn't want the answer to that question and she certainly never wanted to find out how angry Hestia would be with her when she found out she had been making deals with Hecate.

* * *

Athena arrived precisely on time, not a hair out of place and her piercing grey eyes cut through Faye like a hot knife through butter. Without any hesitation the Goddess walked through the door and out to the porch where the two had taken tea the last time they had been together.

Faye nearly tripped over herself running back to the kitchen and shoving freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with melted caramel chocolates inside on a plate and gathering up the other plate of sandwiches that she had been preparing, with the help of Hestia of course. Thankful that she had already placed the tea pot and tea cups out on the table a few seconds before Athena had arrived.

Lady trotted after her, the pup was truly living up to her name and hardly was ever under foot unless they were playing, in which case Faye would usually be making close acquaintances with the ground.

Placing down the plates of food Faye made herself comfortable in a chair, reaching down and pulling up Lady into her lap. Lady snuffled in closer to her and absentmindedly Faye began to pat the puppy, smiling widely across at Athena.

"It's good to see you again Faye, and this must be Lady." Athena asked, a small smile on her face.

"Yes, this is Lady. I'm happy you could make the time to come." Faye said, before reaching out and taking a cookie. She didn't care if it made her childish for digging straight into the cookies, but she was going to eat them while they were hot.

Faye was barely able to contain her moan when the caramel burst in her mouth, meshing perfectly with the slightly melted choc chips and the sweetness of the cookie. Glancing over at Athena, she realised that the Goddess had the same idea and was nibbling on a cookie with as much elegance as one could. If the way Athena's eyes widened ever so slightly and the way she eagerly took another bite, Faye was happy to say that the cookies were good.

"So," Faye began, "tell me everything that you've been up to. How have you been?"

Athena sighed heavily, pouring both of them tea and taking a deep drink before answering Faye's question.

"Busy, as always. I've been hanging around some universities lately."

Universities. A part of Faye roared jealously at the thought of being unable to attend one just yet, to write paper about new findings and research that had yet to be conducted. Unfortunately, she needed to pass school first, thankfully every subject was familiar enough that she wasn't having too much trouble. The only subject she truly hated was math, because damn it all, why couldn't math just stay the same? There was no need to change it.

"Which ones?" Faye questioned, eager to hear more about Athena's time in universities.

Faye wondered why Athena even went to university. Was it to see how the education process changed or was it to meet the newest and brightest minds. Either way Faye wanted to hear all about it, she wondered what classes Athena was sitting in on, whether she was making herself known to the students and lecturers around her.

"Harvard and Stanford, mostly Harvard." Athena said, reaching for another cookie.

It made Faye wonder where she would go to, which university would be best for her. Would she pick one that was close by to the house so that she could stay with Hestia or would she pick a university that was hours away and would cause for her to rent an apartment or stay on campus? The real question that worried her though was whether she truly wanted to study psychology and if she didn't what would she do?

"That's wonderful Athena. Have you met anyone interesting?"

At Faye's words Athena coughed, reaching for her tea to take another sip, taking a sudden interest in the tea cups.

"Enough about me, how is school going Faye? Are you enjoying your subjects?" Athena asked, changing the subject as quickly as possible leaving Faye rather stupefied.

Well, if Athena didn't want Faye to pry she wouldn't. She respected Athena's privacy and wouldn't put any unnecessary strain on their relationship. Even though the small blush that had spread across Athena's cheeks sparked Faye's curiosity.

"It's school. I pass everything with perfect grades and it's becoming annoying."

Athena frowned, the blush disappearing from her face as quickly as it had appeared. Faye tried to shrug it off, but she would have been lying if she had told Athena she wasn't bored out of her mind.

"Would you like me to talk to Hestia? Perhaps I could convince her to speak to the school about you skipping a few grades."

It was a good idea, but, Faye couldn't leave Butch. He was her only human friend, the only normal friend that she had and she didn't want to loose that. Being surrounded by Gods was getting to her head, she knew it, she would slip up, promise something she shouldn't. Around Butch she didn't need to watch her words or her actions too much, she could be a kid, or at least a very mature child and not worry about any ulterior motives.

"I have a friend in the classes I'm currently in."

It seemed that Faye's words were not what Athena had wanted to hear, frowning, her lips pursed in annoyance.

"But you're not being pushed in your education. You shouldn't let some mortal hold you back Faye." She told Faye sharply, placing down her cup of tea with a bit more force than Faye would have thought necessary.

Mortal. Athena had told her not to let 'some mortal' hold her back. Did she suddenly forget that Faye was a mortal too? She had said the word as if it was a slur, as if Faye was above such a thing. But, Faye wasn't, she knew she was worth just as much as anyone else, probably a little less to be honest as she had already lived her life once.

"I'm a mortal Athena." Faye whispered and Athena seemed to freeze, as if unsure how to continue with the conversation.

"Just think about it Faye, please."

Faye softened as she took in the apologetic expression on the Goddesses face and reached her hand across the table to grab onto Athena's gently and give it a squeeze of reassurance. She wasn't angry, just confused and a little sad. Besides, Athena was just looking out for her, she didn't mean any offence by it, if anything it was a compliment that Athena was involving herself in Faye's education.

"You're probably right Athena." Faye conceded and Athena smiled at the statement, any uncertainty disappearing from her features.

"Of course I am."

At that Faye had to scoff loudly, only Athena could be so matter-of-fact and egotistical at the same time.

"Gods Athena, keep talking like that and your head might just explode." Faye replied and couldn't stop herself from breaking out into uncontrollable laughter at the expression that Athena pulled at her words. It was as if someone had just shoved a lemon covered in cinnamon within Athena's mouth.

"Oh shush you." Athena admonished her, swatting her shoulder gently, a blush colouring her cheeks.

The two of them talked for hours about all manner of subjects until the tea pot was finished and there was no more food left. Athena stood with a sigh, regret clear on her face.

"I'm sorry Faye, but I should be going."

Without any hassle Lady jumped off Faye's lap as she got up to say goodbye to Athena, wrapping her arms around her friend, smiling into Athena's stomach when she returned the hug.

"I wish I could stay longer." Athena whispered, bending slightly to press a kiss to Faye's forehead which only caused her to tighten her grip around the Goddess.

"I wish you could too."

The two of them continued to hug for a few more moments before Athena detached herself from Faye's hold. Walking Athena out, Faye picked up Lady and leaned against the door frame, cuddling the Hellhound close to her chest.

"' _I know. I was there. I saw the great void in your soul, and you saw mine._ '" Athena said suddenly

The Goddess smirked when Faye nearly jumped a foot in the air having expected for them to just exchange goodbye's, not quite ready for the quote game. Faye bite her lower lip, her brows coming together as she wondered about the quote before finally settling on one, crossing her fingers in the hope that she would get it right.

"Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks."

Athena's proud smile was enough of an answer for Faye to know she had gotten it right and patted herself mentally on the back before choosing one of her own.

' _We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts –not to hurt others.'_ "

The proud smile dimmed on Athena's face and her expression twisted momentarily leaving Faye at a loss. Had she not liked the quote, it was rather long, or had she perhaps finally chosen one that Athena didn't know?

"Middlemarch by George Elliot."

Obviously she knew the book.

'Athena –" Faye begun, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Goodbye Faye, let me know if you want me to speak to Hestia or not." Athena cut her off briskly, leaning down to again press a small kiss to Faye's brow, staying just a moment longer than she had before, as if imprinting the moment into her brain.

And just like that Athena was gone. It was then that Faye decided she push Athena about her extreme dislike to the idea of mortality. It was a subject she didn't want to touch on for many years and when she eventually would bring it up, she would wish that she had waited longer. Cuddling Lady closer to her Faye yelped when the puppy leaned her head up closer to Faye's and licked her on the mouth.

* * *

Persephone wondered sometimes who it was that had a hand in bringing Faye to them. Watching the human girl play fetch with Cerberus and the little Hellhound puppy she knew that something greater was at work. Humans didn't just fall into the laps of Gods and they certainly didn't entrance a horde of them like a flame does a moth.

Dark brown hair, that now fell past her waist was pulled back in an elaborate braid, littered with flowers that Persephone herself had chosen. Pomegranate flowers, she wondered if Hestia would be mad. Using pomegranate flowers was nearly worse than branding her, she would have to take them out before Hestia came to take her home.

It had only been a year but she had grown so much from the wide eyed seven-year-old that had greeted her for tea. Her limbs were already lengthening, her face already beginning to loose some of the baby fat that had softened her cheeks. She would be beautiful, Persephone had no doubts about that. Cheeks littered with freckles that Persephone had taken to counting when they sat together alone and already Persephone could imagine the curves that she would one day grow into, Hestia would be beating off the other Gods and Goddesses with a stick.

It made Persephone worry, how fast Faye grew, a flower blooming much too quickly. Faye would grow bigger still and adolescence would cling to her lovingly. There would be changes in the hollow behind her knees and the dip in her shoulders in only a few short years. Her legs would become longer and coltish and before Persephone knows Faye's entire appearance will shift and have changed. She has to remind herself that though this time will feel like forever for Faye, for herself it will only be a short moment. And, without noticing, the child with haunted eyes and a smile that made Persephone want to freeze time forever, will be wrapped in Thanatos's embrace. It terrified Persephone and she wonders how Hestia can bear to take her eyes off of Faye for even a moment. How can she bear to miss the little things? Like the quick intake of her breaths when she has been running around and the melodic laughter that escapes her when she finds something amusing.

Persephone has wondered what it would be like to keep her, not forever, she would never deprive Faye of the sun, of the flowers and the world above. But, she would see her safe, with her, forever. It would be so easy, to slip the seeds into her food. Hades wouldn't mind, he didn't love Faye like she did, but he would grow to, Persephone knew her husband better than he knew himself sometimes. But, Faye probably wouldn't like that, and being the cause of the smile falling, becoming the cause of her tears wasn't an option in Persephone's opinion.

Faye was special, she had stood up to Demeter for her, had cared for her with no ulterior motive, Faye had held her as best she could while she cried and had kept her secrets, earned her trust. Not many, mortal or God could claim such a thing. Persephone was not a Goddess prone to jealousy, all she asked for was to be treated with the respect and love she deserved. Her husband, as much as she loved him, had engaged in dalliances with mortals and her mother refused to see her as a Queen. Faye gave her respect and love freely, never asking for anything in return. The devotion that she gave Persephone did not lessen due to her being friends with major Goddesses like Artemis, nor minor ones like Iris and even the human she had spoken of in passing. Persephone knew without being told that she was loved, that the bond the two of them held could not be challenged, only strengthened.

Persephone smiled softly as she watched Faye get barrelled over by Lady only to have Cerberus loom over her and his heads gently begin to slobber all over the poor girl. Both hounds only getting spurred on by her giggles and squeals. Out of the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of her husband, shrouded in shadows, a soft smile on his face mirroring her own. It would come as no surprise to Persephone if her husband wouldn't mind keeping Faye in the Underworld too. And in that moment Persephone realised that she didn't care who had a hand in playing with her, because they had gifted her with Faye. And, as long as they didn't try to wrench Faye away from her she'd be content to let them live.

* * *

 _Dear Faye,_

 _Too easy? Very well then, I shall endeavour to send you harder to find quotes. Tea was wonderful, it was entertaining as always to speak with you. In regards to how you came to own Lady I must confess I have my doubts that Lord Hades took pity on you as you say. He is not a God for such emotions, perhaps you intrigued him much like you have intrigued me. No matter, my favourite colour is grey, I quite like the muted calm tones. And I believe the colour you are looking for is burgundy. Also, 'The Handmaids Tale' by Margaret Atwood._

 _Kind Regards,_

 _Athena_

 _P.S_

' _It sounds plausible enough tonight, but wait until tomorrow. Wait for the common sense of the morning.'_

* * *

 **Thank you chello baby, xenocanaan, Sabrina987, Angelicsailor, FieryWaters, Death Fury, Delphine Pryde, Zeru 'Xil, ShotoGun, AryaZEvans and albadaisies for your reviews! You guys are amazing!**

 **As always, thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this. I hope everyone has an awesome week!**

 **I'm so sorry for the wait, I've actually really hurt my left arm and typing let alone doing anything has been hard. I hope this chapter was worth the wait. I apologise if it seems a little like a 'filler'. This is actually only half of the chapter I had planned to post, but it got much too long so I'll be posting the next half hopefully within the next two weeks and it's got something very special in it that is definitely not filler at all.**

 **chello baby: I don't know whether that's good or bad, I hope that Hecate being nice was okay, I promise it won't happen to often. And Morpheus is definitely a sweetheart, I want a Morpheus to be honest. And Lady is my favourite too! She is too precious for this world.**

 **Angelicsailor: Neither of those two lovely Goddesses, though you're getting a little warm with the cat idea. Thank you and I'll continue to do this I think then unless it starts taking up too much space :)** **Lady is now the main character; I apologise this story is now no longer about Faye. And your comment about Hecate made me laugh so much.**

 **FieryWaters: Thank you so much! I'm so happy that you're enjoying the little book quote battle. And is it bad if I'm happy that I almost made you cry? I'm so happy that you're enjoying the story and I completely agree with you, Hestia is the best.**

 **ShotoGun: What type of action are we talking? If we're talking physically throwing punches it's going to be a while until we reach that point, but when we do there's going to be quite a bit of it. We just have to wait for Faye's body to catch up with her mind before she can do anything to exciting, and she also has to learn. There is going to be some stuff that I guess could be classified as action happening soon, Faye just isn't in a very good position to actually do any damage. As for major character deaths...the unfortunate answer is that at the moment there will a few deaths that are unexpected by the end of this fanfic. I gave myself a rule, for every life saved in this fanfic, another must be offered up.**

 **AryaZEvans: Thank you! And honestly, Hecate is the epitome of a tsun-tsun.**

 **albadaisies: Thank you so much, you're making me blush. I am such a big Hestia fan, she's honestly just a little ball of sunshine that must be protected and loved at all costs. I agree with you, when Faye meets Apollo when she's older Artemis is going to have a few little hissy fits (some not so little). I have thought of a pairing, but honestly it's not so much of a pairing as a very complicated relationship. There are just so many options though so nothing is set in stone. Knowing me I'll probably write a chapter that shows what life would be like for Faye with different pairings one day cause the options are quite literally endless.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, those wonderful books belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Twelve

 _Dear Athena,_

 _Tea was wonderful wasn't it. As much as I am happy that I intrigue you, I may be about to annoy you. Grey is not a colour Athena, but rather a shade. You are correct, it is 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood. The quote you used was by H.G Wells and from his novel 'The Time Machine'. How has your week been? Have you been enjoying the universities? I miss your company already and I hope to see you again soon._

 _-Faye_

 _P.S_

'" _History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake."'_

* * *

The God of the Sea was much like the domain he reigned over. He could be calm one minute and furious the next. It had been nearly a year since he had started a dalliance with Sally Jackson that had blossomed into a beautiful relationship. Something he treasured and wanted to protect at all cost.

She didn't feel the same way.

He had offered her the life of a Goddess, a life filled with all of her hearts desires and she had denied him.

He was furious.

( _he was miserable_ )

He wanted to rage and vent his frustrations to the world.

 _(he wanted to break down and cry)_

So there he was, wallowing in his emotions, sitting on Montauk beach, when he noticed her. A child that couldn't have been more than seven or eight, with long brown hair, caramel coloured skin wearing a pale lilac swimsuit, sat on the beach only a few metres away from him. He honestly wouldn't have paid any attention to her except for the fact that the child had been staring curiously at him while he swore up a storm and threw shells into the ocean.

Mortals shouldn't have been able to see him.

The only way a mortal should have been able to see him was if they had the ability to see through the Mist and wasn't that just hilarious in his opinion. First the woman he was desperately in love with could see through it and now a little mortal girl could. Perhaps he was a magnet for mortals who had that rare ability. Poseidon stared out to the sea, watching the waves and debating what exactly he wanted to do. Eventually he sighed heavily and stood up, brushing sand from his clothes and walked over to the little girl.

"Are you alright child?" Poseidon questioned, looking down at the girl, not quite sure what to do with her exactly.

The child in question looked up at him, big brown eyes that seemed to pierce right through his soul stared right back at him. She was wearing a pair of denim shorts and a plain white shirt with a brown leather choker that had a medium sized gem hanging off it.

"I'm fine, just a little lost." She said, smiling up at him.

Poseidon scoffed at the casual way she brushed off the fact that she was lost. Weren't children her age meant to worry when they got lost? Weren't they meant to cry for their parents or scream and run around until they found them? It had been so long since he had actively raised a child and for the life of him he just couldn't remember, the only reference he had to go off was what he saw.

"Would you like some help finding your mother or father?" He asked, forcing a smile onto his face in an attempt to appear just like any other human man.

The way the girl looked up at him with both her eyebrows raised, full of disdain, made him realise that perhaps he should work on his acting skills. Dropping the pretence, Poseidon sat himself down next to the girl, another sigh escaping him. It was as if all he could do was sigh.

"No thank you, she'll find me, she always does. And she's not my mum. She's my guardian."

The child spoke with such certainty that for a moment Poseidon was tempted to ask her how she did it. How did this small slip of a girl, a child with no concept of the world speak with such utter conviction?

"You're an orphan?"

The girl's brow furrowed, as if the question was hard to answer, sucking in her bottom lip. In Poseidon's opinion it was rather easy. Either the girl had no parents and was an orphan or she wasn't.

"I don't know if you could classify me as an orphan. I've been adopted." She said, responding slowly, as if every word had been carefully chosen to construct such a sentence and she still wasn't completely sure with her answer.

"But you don't consider her your mother."

The girl made a sound that was a cross between a hum and a groan, her face pursing like she had just sucked on a lemon. Poseidon had to hide his grin behind his hand at her response, it amused him how children mortals were so open, so easy to read and this child made it seem as if he had just asked whether she would like to cut off her arm or her leg. He didn't know being adopted was such a complex matter.

"It's complicated." The girl finally replied, nodding her head as she said it, a rather serious expression on her face.

Poseidon couldn't help the scoff that escaped him.

Complicated. What did this mortal child know of complicated matters? Complicated was his brother creating laws that he was only going to break. Which would, in turn, condemn any of his demi-god children. Complicated was being torn between his duty and his heart.

Complicated was a prophecy that loomed over the Olympian heads that spoke of a child born of either him or his brothers that would rise up and either vanquish them or aid them. Complicated was knowing that he had sentenced any of his children to death.

 _(he knew already that the child that grew within Sally Jackson would be dead as soon as Zeus learned of his existence)_

"How old are you?" Poseidon asked condescendingly, "I doubt you even know the meaning of the word."

The responding eye roll made it clear to him that in the child's opinion he was not only a weird old man, but dumb as well. It made Poseidon want to take her over his knee and teach her some manners.

"I'm eight and I know the meaning of the word complicated."

Eight, she was so young, so inexperienced. This girl knew nothing of the world and what complicated really meant. She didn't understand how easily your world could be turned upside down and torn apart. This child knew nothing.

 _(but the way her eyes locked with his, the way they stared into his soul and completely exposed him made him realise he was wrong)_

A heavy sigh escaped him as he gazed into the young girls' eyes. It was as if all of his troubles had suddenly decided to make themselves known, to taunt him and humiliate him.

"Sir," she asked gently, "are you okay?"

Was he okay?

Of course he was okay! He was the King of the Oceans, the God of the Seas, he was the Earth Shaker. He was fine.

What had made her even ask such a question? Was it perhaps black circles that seemed permanent under his eyes? Was it the way his smile didn't seem very sincere? Whatever it was it made him wonder if she even cared?

"Honestly?"

The question slipped out before he could stop himself and he held his breath, waiting for her response.

"I wouldn't ask unless I wanted the truth."

The amount of sass that the child responded with left him shocked, he honestly couldn't remember the last he had been spoken to like that. It was refreshing, she was refreshing.

"Gods you have some cheek don't you?"

"Are you making a statement or asking a question." The girl asked, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows. It was a perfect imitation of the look that his mother gave him whenever he annoyed her and it made him all the more enamoured with the tiny mortal that was sitting beside him.

"Can I be doing both?"

"No. Now stop avoiding the question."

At her words Poseidon chuckled low under his breath. She wanted the truth. This little mortal girl had no idea what the truth involved. She didn't want the truth. She was a child who wouldn't be able to handle the truth. But, he was angry, resentful and he wanted to talk, to let it all out.

"And pushy too."

As her eyes narrowed dangerously, Poseidon realised he may have pushed her a little too far. He had to remember that mortals had their limits, just like Gods and even though they certainly couldn't harm him, this little girl here looked like she would do her best to cause some damage or chaos if he crossed her. Some small part of him seemed to recognise that angering this mortal girl would not be wise.

"I've found myself in a difficult situation. There is a woman who I love but…" Poseidon struggled to find the words to describe the situation, he had to remind himself this was a child, not an adult. Besides, he didn't exactly want her judging him, he did that enough.

"But you're what? Married? About to die? Gay?"

Yes, never, and technically he was pansexual, but that was most of the divine.

"Married."

Yes, he was happily married. He was a scoundrel, a cheat and a liar.

 _(he was a man trapped for eternity in a loveless marriage)_

He stared out to the ocean, refusing to look at her, refusing to be judged. How, in the span of only a few minutes had he grown to care for the opinion of this child?

"I don't even know why I'm talking to you." Poseidon murmured, every bit of fight completely going out of him.

He froze as a warm hand connected with his own and he looked down to see the girl had raised her hand to rest upon his. Attempting to grasp it in her own tiny hand, she gave his a squeeze of reassurance and Poseidon goddamn nearly broke.

No on cared. No one ever cared. Not his mother, not his father, not his brothers, sisters or lovers. But here, here was a mortal girl who cared whether his emotional state was alright, whether he was okay.

 _(he was never letting her go)_

"Probably because I offered to listen." Her words were soft, gentle and he opened his hand under hers so that he could grasp her small hand in his, her whole hand not ever the size of his palm.

"You know; I don't remember the last time someone offered to just listen to me."

At the look of shock on her face he smiled softly and watched in amazement as she schooled her face, focusing all of her attention on him.

"So, you're married."

Yes, he was married, but he wanted her to understand that being married wasn't his problem, it was the fact that Sally had denied him. No one denied him.

"I offered to bring her home with me, to treat her like the Queen she deserves to be treated as. But, she said no."

Poseidon winced, because even on his own ears he could hear how childlike it sounded. He sounded like his brother Zeus and wasn't that a horrific thing to realise.

"Are you going to leave your wife."

His silence was response enough and the girl looked at him with such pity that all he wanted to do was tear the world in two for someone to daring to look at him in such a way. He was a strong powerful God, one of the Big Three, he was not someone to be pitied.

 _(he wasn't strong, not really, he doubted he ever would be)_

"Then there's your answer to why she won't go."

"It's complicated." He tried to argue, tried to make the mortal girl understand that it was more than she would ever be able to comprehend.

"Life's always complicated, it's how we deal with the complications that reveal what type of person we are." The girl said, her words hitting him like a violent punch to the gut.

It was hard to hear that, because what kind of person did that make him. Someone who wallowed in their grief and raged alone to the ocean. He didn't want to be that sort of person, he wanted to be strong enough to ignore the hurt, ignore the pain.

"Does that mean I'm a bad person?" Poseidon whispered the question, worried about the answer, hoping for clarification.

None was given.

"I don't know you, I can't tell you what kind of person you are. But, from what I've heard so far, you seem okay."

Poseidon scoffed, his lips twisting up in a painful imitation of a smile. 'Okay', he seemed 'okay'. It wasn't the worst thing he could think of being called.

"Thank you for the vote of confidence."

"You're welcome." The girl paused for a moment, as if not sure she should continue with her questioning, "so what else is bothering you?"

"She's pregnant."

By the look of shock on her face he really shouldn't have just blurted that out. Did she even know that babies weren't brought by the stork yet or found in a cabbage patch?

"Well you have gotten yourself into a pickle."

A pickle? More like he could possibly start the next major war, but yes, let's just call that a pickle.

"You have no idea."

The girl elbowed him sharply and Poseidon grunted, not expecting the blunt force trauma that had just occurred to his ribs. She had freaking sharp knobbly little elbows. The face she gave him told him that he'd be getting more than elbowed if he didn't continue.

"I made a sort of agreement with some very important people I wouldn't have any more children. By doing this I've put both her and my child at risk."

"Well aren't you selfish."

That was certainly not the answer he was expecting. Where was the pity? The empathy? Did she have none?

"Excuse me?" Poseidon questioned, his voice raising several octaves higher than normal.

"You're excused." She responded, raising her hand when he went to open his mouth to defend himself.

"Stop. Don't you dare try to defend yourself. You're the one who's in the wrong here."

"But–"

"I mean, if you're not meant to have any more kids there are a few simple rules: one, birth control, two, condoms, three, get a vasectomy and four, abstinence is key. Because if you don't abide by them, and even if you do and you get someone pregnant, that's your responsibility. That's your kid. Kids aren't a joke, they're precious and the way you're talking makes it sound as if you're going to jump ship."

Okay, Poseidon had to admit that it was pretty bad. He shouldn't have made the agreement if he wasn't going to keep to it and he was jumping ship, but that didn't mean he liked being called out on it. Besides, he didn't have any other options.

"I don't have a choice."

The girls brown eyes locked with his, staring into his soul. Choices, he wanted them so badly, he wanted them more than he wanted air, but the Gods didn't have the luxury of choices, they had responsibilities to live up to.

"Everyone has a choice."

Well, if he had a choice then she was going to provide him with one cause he had no idea where to go from here.

"So little wise one, what should I do?"

The look of pleasure at his compliment made him smile, but what made him laugh was the look of blatant shock on her face when she realised that he wanted her opinion on what to do.

"You're asking me?" She questioned, pointing to herself.

"Well, you're the only one who knows." He quipped, because that was the truth, she was the only one who knew everything.

"You need to be a good father."

The way she said it with such conviction it made him realise that above all of the things he could do in his life this little girl believed that being a good father, a good parent was the most important thing to be. But, how did he even know how to be a good father, his own was terrible and his mother, though she had tried her best hadn't exactly been there for his childhood.

 _(he was a horrible father, he already knew that, nothing could change that)_

"How?" Poseidon whispered.

At his question the girl raised her eyebrows, a now he thought about it he had been making her raise her eyebrows rather a lot. He wondered if that was good or bad thing.

"I'm eight remember, are you sure you're comfortable with taking my advice?"

Poseidon raised his eyebrows right back at her, making a gesture to point out there was no one else around, and besides, as he had already said, she was the only one that knew. Who else was he going to ask? The ocean?

"Fine. Read some help books, troll the internet, but most of all, remember that your kid now comes first. That they are now more important than you, you have to make an effort. Get to know them, turn up on birthday's and Christmas, go to their recitals, be a part of their life in any way possible and support them. Let them know they're loved. Because if you don't you're not worthy of ever sticking your dick in another person. You're an adult, you're meant to know this. Clean up your act, be a better person, not for yourself, but for them."

She was right. Every little thing she said were things that he should be doing and maybe that was why it hurt, because he wasn't going to be able to. Because he didn't have a choice.

"You're rather passionate on this subject." Poseidon said affectionately, nudging the girl gently, smiling down at her.

"I won't apologise for that."

"I would never expect you to."

And Poseidon found himself telling the truth. Because he truly didn't expect her to apologise for her opinions or her passions, they were what made this human girl who she was and he wanted to learn every single little thing about her. He didn't want to change her, he wanted her to be her.

"I wish I could do what you've told me to do Guppy." Poseidon said, a not of finality in his words and the little girl seemed to understand that they wouldn't be speaking of the topic of his unborn child anymore, instead focusing on other things.

"Guppy?"

her face twisted in disgust at the nickname, obviously not appreciating being alluded to as a fish.

"Well, you know, like a guppy fish."

"I'm nothing like a guppy fish." The girl argued.

 _(she was such a Guppy)_

"When your cheeks puff up like that you're the spitting image of one."

They face she pulled certainly made him agree with his nickname, her cheek puffing out much like the fish. He couldn't hold in his laughter at the look of utter dejection that appeared on her face and within a few moments she was laughing too. It was a beautiful thing, the two of them laughing as if they had no care in the world. Poseidon wanted it to last forever.

"I preferred, little wise one."

And that was never going to happen. Like hell he was connecting his little Guppy with the know-it-all that was Athena.

"That would inflate your head too much."

The look of agreement she made caused him to laugh all the more.

"Come along Guppy, let's go find your guardian." Poseidon said, standing up along with the little girl, reaching out to hold her hand.

The two of them walked down the beach, the two of them talking all the way. Maybe if Poseidon hadn't been so wrapped up in the conversation with the little Guppy he would have noticed. Then he could have made a quick escape, or perhaps he could have had control of the situation. In all honesty, Poseidon should have realised the moment he saw the necklace on mortals neck. But, Poseidon had been wrapped up in his own problems and he wasn't as focused as he usually was.

 _(he was happy, content and at peace)_

"Faye!"

The loud yell broke Poseidon from his reverie and he stopped. His eyes widening in shock as he took in the woman standing in front of him wearing a burnt red linen dress, her hair whipping around her violently, a look that was a mix of sheer fury and fear on her face.

"Hestia." The Guppy replied happily, squeezing his hand.

Hestia's eyes travelled down to their joined hands and in that moment Poseidon felt true fear. He had never thought his eldest sister would be capable of scaring him, but here he was now, all to ready to run away from her. His mother had always warned him that Hestia held power, but he had never truly believed her.

"Get your hands off my daughter Poseidon!" Hestia screeched

And, in that moment Poseidon realised that anything he thought he knew was completely and utterly shattered, the only thing he did know, was that small hand in his belonged to someone who cared and he wasn't going to be letting go anytime soon.

* * *

 _Dear Faye,_

 _I suppose you are correct. Grey is a shade and not a colour. In that case I like the colour silver, is that a better choice? My week has been rather fun and I have met some rather wonderful mortals recently. Though do not worry, none are as brilliant, nor as talented as you. The quote you chose is from 'Ulysses', by James Joyce. I miss you also and cannot wait to see you again. Perhaps I will stop by for tea within the next few weeks._

 _-Athena_

 _P.S_

' _Finally, from so little sleeping and so much reading, his brain dried up and he went completely out of his mind.'_

* * *

 **Thank chello baby, Sabrina987, Chinchi37, pendora59, Daughter of Prometheus, AryaZEvans, FieryWaters and all of the Guests for your reviews! You guys are amazing!**

 **I am terrified, I am absolutely freaking terrified that I haven't done Poseidon justice. If I haven't done him justice I am so sorry. I debated whether I should just rewrite this chapter, but I wanted to try writing his perspective so badly. I hope it's okay**

 **As you can see I tried out a new sort of style for writing Poseidon's perspective. I'll most likely be going through all my old chapters in the next few months and editing them all (because I realised how horrible the grammar and tense is in some of them and I am so apologetic). I hope it's okay and I think I might us it as away to distinguish the chapters in Faye's POV and of the Gods/Goddesses POV's.**

 **chello baby: Lady is just a heart stealer, she's my absolute favourite and I love Persephone so much. Her and Hades are honestly the only normalish couple in Greek Mythology. I'm happy you like her part because I was terrified I wouldn't do her justice. And sometimes when I review that happens to me too, so don't worry.**

 **Chinchi37: Hahaha, I wish it was just that.**

 **AryaZEvans: I know! She seriously deserves so much more screen time, she is such a boss!**

 **FieryWaters: We will be seeing quite a bit more of that in the future, Hestia is an absolute mama bear when it comese to protecting her baby. And Athena is a complicated case, also, you got it! I don't think I did it well wnough, but I was trying to convey that Athena didn't like being reminded of her hubris and nor did she Faye talking about her mortality. There are going to be a few arguments later on about mortality and living forever and it is not going to be pretty for anyone involved.**

 **Guest: Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you. Your reviews were so wonderful. I thank you for tipping your hat and I truly hope that you continue to enjoy my story.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this. I hope everyone has an awesome week!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, those wonderful books belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

 _Dear Athena,_

 _Silver is a wonderful choice! And I'm so happy for you, though I highly doubt that. There many people more brilliant and talented than I am out in the world. Try not to stroke my ego too much. I really do hope you stop by for tea again. Also, I met someone today that I don't think you will approve of. I hope that you'll be okay if I do become friends with him though. I would hate for anything I did to harm our friendship. The quote you chose is from 'Don Quixote' by Miguel de Cervantes. Are you suggesting I need to stop reading?_

 _-Faye_

 _P.S_

' _I have been bent and broken, but–I hope–into a better shape.'_

* * *

Hestia had never raised her voice in all the time that Faye had lived with her. Not once had her eyes filled with hatred and Faye had never dared to believe that Hestia was dangerous, could become as monstrous as all the other Gods if she wished.

Faye had never been more wrong about Hestia.

The warmth that usually exuded from the Goddess was gone, her eyes that were usually so filled with love and affection were filled with a cold calculate fury. Faye didn't register Poseidon pushing her behind him and the way the waves crashed behind them in response to Hestia. But, she did notice the way Hestia's lips curled back to reveal her teeth which she bared at Poseidon in a challenge. No, it wasn't a challenge, it wasn't even a warning, Hestia wanted to kill Poseidon and nothing was going to stop her.

Faye gasped when Poseidon suddenly groaned and nearly keeled over in front of her. The ocean raged behind her, she could feel the earth begin to shake in response, but Hestia seemed unaffected. For the first time since meeting her Faye was reminded that Hestia was a God, she was the Goddess of the hearth, home and fire, in ancient times humans had called her the 'Hearth of Olympus'. Faye wondered what powers that entailed the Goddess before her.

The pained moan that escaped from Poseidon's clenched lips was what made Faye move. With a sharp tug she had pulled her hand out of Poseidon's, which he had been holding rather gently all things considered, and stood in front of him, her hands outstretched in front of her.

For a moment Hestia paused, her face softening and her eyes suddenly filled with regret as she realised what she had done. Unfortunately, Poseidon decided that he would not be using this slight reprieve to talk to his sister about what had happened. Instead the ocean rose behind Poseidon and Faye and seemed to reach out towards Hestia, wrapping around her neck until she gasped for air.

Faye couldn't take it anymore and whirled around with a fury she didn't know she possessed and kicked Poseidon as hard as she could in the shin. Poseidon momentarily lost control of his element at the shock of Faye's 'attack', staring down at her open mouthed.

"Stop it," Faye wailed, tears dripping down her face as she whirled towards Hestia who had stepped towards Poseidon as if continue the fight, "stop it the both of you."

It seemed as if the whole world had stopped. Neither Poseidon nor Hestia breathed, neither of them moved. The only sound seemed to be coming from Faye as she began to sob rather uncontrollably. These were the Gods, they were powerful beings and when they rose up against each other they crushed the mortals around them like bugs with little care for them. Faye had in that moment realised exactly how powerless she was, how little she mattered in the grand scheme of things and it scared her, it scared the ever loving shit out of her.

Both of the Gods before her seemed to unfreeze. Hestia walked over to her quickly, dropping to her knees on the wet sand in front of Faye and she reached out to Faye only to retract her hand quickly, as if she was afraid Faye would startle. Faye let out a strangled sort of sob before launching herself into Hestia's arms, gripping onto the Goddess as tightly as she could. All Hestia did in response was wrap her arms around Faye in return and whisper numerous apologies to her, Faye snuggled into the crook of Hestia's neck and relished in the fact that the fighting had ended.

"I'm so sorry Guppy."

The words were barely above a whisper. But Faye heard them and if anything that only brought on another round of sobbing as someone began to stroke her hair. When Faye turned her head to the side slightly, enough that she could look behind her, she was a little shocked to see that Poseidon had chosen to crouch down on the beach behind her, a look of regret on his face as he carded his fingers gently through her hair.

"Now Guppy, getting snot all over Hestia, that isn't very lady like." Poseidon joked, a small smile playing at his lips when Faye choked out a laugh at his words.

Hestia's arms seemed to tighten around her and Faye had to tap her on the arm to remind Hestia not to squeeze her to death.

"Don't you dare try to discipline her brother."

Poseidon snorted and raised an eyebrow towards Faye, as if daring her to correct Hestia. Faye did no such thing and continued to lean into Hestia's warm hug innocently. Poseidon just rolled his eyes at her, but continued to stroke her hair, his fingers sometimes stopping to massage her scalp tenderly.

"Trust me sister, if anyone is getting disciplined in this relationship it is certainly not the Guppy." He joked, and Faye giggled a little at Hestia's slight look of approval.

"So, you're really Poseidon? God of the Ocean? The Earth-shaker?" Faye asked, turning in Hestia's arms to face Poseidon, nearly laughing when his face dropped comically when he was forced to remove his hand from her head.

Thankfully for Poseidon's ego he recovered from the loss of contact quickly, smirking lazily at Faye as he leaned towards her. He leered in a way that would have been uncomfortable if Faye was certain that Poseidon meant her no harm.

"Impressed?"

Faye scoffed and rolled her eyes, she honestly wondered If his neck ever got tired of carrying around his highly inflated ego.

"Very underwhelmed to be honest." She replied dismissively, trying to keep a straight face, but failing when Poseidon looked at her with the expression of someone who had just been told that someone had pissed in their cereal.

Faye couldn't help it and would have fallen onto her arse due to laughing so hard if Hestia wasn't holding her up.

"You are insufferable Guppy." Poseidon grumbled, reaching out to take her small hand in his,

The three of them lapsed into silence, two Gods kneeling in front and behind a mortal who stood between them. The divine did not kneel to mortals; they did not bow their heads in shame nor apologise for any wrong doings. Yet, here were two Gods kneeling before a mortal. They kneeled before because they cared, they bowed their heads so that she would never have to look up and they apologised because above all they wanted her forgiveness. They wanted her.

It was something that had never been done, something that was unthinkable and Faye, for all her knowledge and wisdom didn't fully comprehend the implication behind their actions. She didn't comprehend it because Hestia had never once treated Faye as if she was insignificant, a blip in her existence. She didn't comprehend the fact that Poseidon had never once kneeled before anyone, not his wife and certainly not Zeus.

"So, a daughter?" Poseidon asked, breaking the silence, glancing mischievously at his sister.

"No law has been broken and if you value your tongue you shan't speak until I have finished explaining brother." Hestia responded and Faye had to squeeze Hestia's forearm to remind her that squeezing her too hard was not comfortable at all.

"Motherhood becomes you dearest sister, and don't worry. I won't do anything to hurt Guppy here, even if you had broken more than a few laws. I have to admit I'm rather taken with her."

Poseidon's words were said with humour but Faye understood the darker meaning behind them, that this man, no God, she had met only a few hours before was willing to lie for her, to protect her. It made Faye's heart practically burst with joy. Yet, his words also brought fear to Faye, in just an hour Poseidon had become attached to her, was that normal? Shouldn't he, if anything, just feel amicable to her?

Faye was broken out of her reverie by Hestia's warm voice, telling her to say her goodbyes to Poseidon since they had to meet Rhea for dinner and still had a long drive home ahead of them. Faye was sure that Hestia could have just used her 'magic' to allow for them to arrive home early, but looking over at the Goddess of the Hearth she realised that pushing Hestia in this moment was probably not a good idea, the Goddess was far too on edge.

Slipping out of Hestia's hold Faye stood in front of Poseidon who was still crouched on the sand.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye."

Could she get anymore awkward? Faye wanted to beat herself over the head with a rock. Poseidon obviously had an idea what she was thinking if the amusement that sparkled in his eyes was any indication.

"Only for now Guppy, I'll see you soon enough. I promise." Poseidon said, reaching out to ruffle her hair.

With an indignant squawk Faye moved out from underneath him, trying to smooth her tussled hair. But returned the wide smile that Poseidon gave her afterwards.

"My name is Faye, and I understand if you don't have time. You are very busy."

It hurt to admit it, but she would understand if she didn't see Poseidon for a very long time. He was a busy God, much like Athena, finding tome to spend together was hard and she didn't want for him to think that he was obligated to keep her company.

Without any warning Poseidon reached out, bringing Faye into a tight hug, head tucked under his chin and her nose buried into his shirt. He smelled of the beach, the salty smell surprisingly calming to her and she wrapped her arms as much as she could around him.

"I think I'll stick with Guppy and don't worry, I promise to always make time for you." Poseidon whispered into her ear, giving her another tight squeeze before letting her go.

Both Hestia and Poseidon stood, Faye reaching out to take a hold of Hestia's hand in reassurance, unable to stop herself from turning around as they away from the beach, waving at Poseidon who waved just as enthusiastically back. Poseidon was an interesting God, a complicated God, but Faye enjoyed his company and she couldn't wait to see him again.

Faye should have told him to make time for his unborn son and the woman that Poseidon had been having an affair with. But, Faye didn't. She knew when to pick her battles and this wasn't the time to fight this one. If she wanted to wage a war against the parenting of the Gods, then she would have to wage it against the main perpetrator. Faye would have to wage a war against the King of the Gods himself. Until then, she could aim to help her quickly expanding family, she could endeavour to support them in any was she could. Because, unfortunately for Faye, she had realised that deep down, even if her family hurt others and tore apart the world around them, she honestly didn't care. All she truly wanted was for them to be happy.

* * *

Hestia's life had changed irrevocably the day she had decided to gather Faye Edwards up in her arms and give her a family. Before Faye, Hestia had lived for her family, she had done whatever she could for them, given up her seat on Olympus, held them as they cried and listened to them when they raged. Hestia had been the heart and soul of her family, she had stood by all of them and would never begrudged them anything. She would have flayed the skin off her own back and plucked her own eyes from her skull and presented them to her family on a silver platter if they so desired, because she loved them, because they were her life.

 _(she would have died for them, killed for them)_

That was not the case anymore.

 _(she would be the one to kill them now)_

Hestia's family was no longer her first priority, she would not bend over backwards for their whims and desires any longer. She still loved them of course, they were her family. But, she was a mother now and she would rather destroy them than see any harm come to her daughter.

 _(and oh wasn't that word like a drug on her tongue, daughter)_

Sitting on her porch that weekend watching Faye play with Lady and Rhea, the implications of her confrontation with her brother hit her. She had raised her hand against her own flesh and blood for Faye. She had caused pain to her brother out of fear that he had hurt her daughter when there had not even been a hair out of place on Faye's head. Love was such a terrifying emotion for a God.

Hestia had thought that she had felt love before, that she had loved her family, but she had been wrong. Her love for Faye was all consuming, it was fierce and dangerous. She wondered if Zeus had felt the disturbance, she hoped that he would ignore her dispute with Poseidon. Because if he didn't, if he looked too closely and found out about Faye, she didn't know what she would do.

 _(she knew exactly what she would do, because if Zeus ever harmed her daughter he would be a brother to her no more)_

"How is she?"

Hestia startled, turning in her seat to face the newcomer that stood in poised perfection next to her. Athena looked as she always did, perfectly immaculate. With her hair tied back in a severe bun, leather kitten heels from a designer brand that mortals loved so much and a navy blue pant suit the Goddess of Wisdom looked incredible. Sometimes, Hestia wondered jealously if Faye preferred Athena more due to her style and grace. Next to her niece Hestia felt slightly underdressed in a loose linen dress, her curls left free and her feet bare. Standing, Hestia had gestured to the seat next to her. Athena declined with a shake of head causing Hestia to awkwardly stand, leaning slightly against her chair, very aware of the height difference between the two as she craned her neck slightly to meet her fellow Goddesses gaze.

"I didn't notice you arrive. Faye will be happy to see you."

Attempting small talk with Athena was never a strong suit of Hestia's. Usually Hestia knew exactly what to say to the members of her family, but Athena was different, Athena was shut off and cold where everyone else usually welcomed Hestia with warmth. Perhaps it was because the two of them were too different, their opinions never quite aligning. But, for the first time in a millennia Hestia and Athena had something in common. The soft smile that graced Athena's face when looking out towards Hestia's daughter spoke in volumes to her.

"I'll speak with her shortly, I wouldn't want to interrupt." Athena murmured, and Hestia couldn't agree with her more as she glanced over to where Faye had been knocked down onto the grass by Lady and was laughing hysterically along with Rhea.

The two of them stood in silence, the both of them watching Faye and Hestia wondered whether her wonderful, incredible daughter knew that she had the Goddess of Wisdom utterly enraptured with her.

"I have dealt with Lord Zeus."

Athena's words broke the silence between the two and had Hestia whipping her head towards Athena, her mouth agape in shock. Athena had 'dealt' with Zeus. How exactly had she 'dealt' with him? What had she done?

"Pardon?"

Athena refused to look at Hestia, her eyes glued to where Faye was now standing, throwing a ball for the ever excitable pup.

"He was asking questions, about your argument with Poseidon. I told him it was a mere disagreement and that Poseidon pushed you too far. He is no longer concerned."

Athena had lied to Zeus, not outright, but definitely partially. Hestia had never thought that Athena would lie for her, let alone lie to Zeus who she adored and stood by above all the other Gods. To do such a thing, Hestia had no words that she could use to express her thanks. The fear that had been festering in her heart at the possible outcomes that could occur when Zeus found out about her daughter disappeared at Athena's words. Hestia felt as if she had been stuck underwater without noticing and only just now come up for air and realised she could breathe again.

"Thank you niece." Hestia said, reaching for the Goddess with her hands only for Athena to pull away from her, her eyes cold and her mouth hard.

"It wasn't for you."

Of course it wasn't, of course it wasn't for her that Athena had lied to her father and mislead the King of the Gods. No, it was for the little mortal that held not a drop of divine blood in her veins. Hestia felt stupid for even trying convey her thanks, she had known that Athena had done what she had for Faye and that none of her motives had anything to do with helping her, but couldn't the other Goddess just accept her thanks.

"…You must watch yourself Hestia, unleashing your power around her, you could have harmed her."

For a moment Hestia wanted to rage at Athena, she wanted to throw her own words back at her, for she knew that Athena would have done far worse if she had seen Poseidon's hand wrapped tightly around Faye's a look of adoration in his eyes. Athena would have gutted him where he stood if she had seen that. But, Athena was right. Faye could have been hurt, she had been hurt by their fighting, though thankfully not physically. Hestia still remembered the tears that had fallen from her daughters' eyes and she would have done anything in her power to take back the actions that had hurt her daughter.

 _(she would burn the earth and raise Tartarus itself for her daughter)_

"I know; it won't happen again." Hestia whispered, eyes downcast, her hands clasped tightly in front of her.

Athena didn't make a sound, not acknowledging her response at all. Biting her lip, Hestia looked up at her niece, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Where do you stand Athena? In all of this."

Athena turned to face her, her grey eyes wide as if she had not expected Hestia to have the nerve to ask. Athena was never wrong so it must have come as a shock for Hestia to be the one to act out of line. To question Athena was simply just not done.

Athena paused, her hands clenched in fists at her side and she refused to meet Hestia's gaze. The Goddess seemed to be choosing her words carefully, as if unsure herself of the answer that she would give.

"…Aunt, I am allied with my Father, Lord Zeus in all matters except one." Athena finally said, still refusing to look Hestia in the eye.

"Thank you." Hestia said once again, unable to stop herself.

Hestia wished she had when Athena finally turned her head slightly towards her, looking down on her, her steel grey eyes narrow.

"I never said I was on your side Hestia." Athena replied curtly.

No, of course not. No one ever was.

And with that Athena dismissed herself, walking over to Faye where Hestia watched as her daughter spun to face the Goddess of Wisdom, her arms outstretched as she ran to embrace Athena.

It didn't matter that no one was on Hestia's side, because the only 'side' she had was Faye's. Faye was her life, her daughter, her everything and Hestia would protect that no matter the cost.

* * *

 _Dear Faye,_

 _Never stop reading, only be sure to give yourself time to sleep. Please do not doubt yourself, you are very important to me. You are brilliant and talented, I would not put the time and effort into you that I do if you were not. An ego can be a good thing to have sometimes and being able to identify your fatal flaw is important for anyone. If your ego is yours, you must learn how to work around while also using it to your advantage. If it is who I believe that you speak of Faye, know that nothing will ever come between our friendship, I will not allow it. Also, 'Great Expectations' by Charles Dickens._

 _-Athena_

 _P.S_

' _Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.'_

* * *

 **Thank you Death Fury, Chinchi37, Shannyrox101, Sabrina987, Fan334786, TheOneKrafter, OTrizy, FieryWaters, TheCrazyAnimeFan01, ArtaZEvans, epphermeral-times and Guests for your reviews! You guys are amazing!**

 **I'm so happy everyone seemed to like Poseidon, I was so very worried about writing him. I hope you enjoy this chapter and a little look into the mind of Hestia. Sorry this is so short and took so long, I'm actually really excited to announce that I am very nearly a registered nurse, I turned in my final assessment today and now I only have two exams left and some more placement to finish up!**

 **Chinchi37: It is! And thank you so much.**

 **Fan334786: Thank you, I'm so happy you like my fanfic. I'm not going to say anything about the ships at the moment, Faye will join the main story, in fact the book she'll be making her 'big' appearance in is book 3 'The Titans Curse'. Unfortunately, Faye really is just a normal person in her past life, well as normal as one can be, I mean her life has been difficult, but most are.**

 **TheOneKrafter: Thank you, thank you so much. The main reason I wanted to write this originally was because I wanted to play with the Gods, they are just so incredible because they're human in all the wrong ways if that makes sense.**

 **FieryWaters: I thought you would be excited, and yeah, it sucks she's a kid, but trust me, her and Percy are going to meet up and adventures shall be had. Also, mortals may not be allowed into camp, but exceptions have been made, eg. Rachel Dare. And I totally get what you mean.**

 **Hat Tipper Guest: Please, I beg of you, please get an account because I need to PM you and thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. Your reviews are incredible and make my day. I hope you continue to enjoy and I cannot wait until you are up to date.**

 **TheCrazyAnimeFan01: Thank you! And Butch is coming next chapter, there's going to be some drama a bit later with him due to his parentage and that's all I'm going to say to not spoil.**

 **ephemeral-times: I'm not saying anything. It would give it all away :P**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this. I hope life has been treating you all well.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson series, those wonderful books belongs to Rick Riordan. I am just playing with his creations and world.**

 **I want to thank anyone who reads this and I hope that it's ok. Criticism is always welcome.**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen

 _Dear Athena,_

 _I hope all is well and I can't wait to see you this week. The quote you chose is from 'Phrynette Married' by Marthe Troly-Curtin. Now, I know you say that nothing will come between our friendship, but what if you're wrong. The new friend I wrote to you about, I know you would disapprove of, and I think it would anger you. A part of me wants to say that I would end the friendship to keep you happy, but I can't say that. You mean so much to me Athena, but I feel that I have to give this person a chance. I want you to know that you shall always have my friendship, Athena, even if you don't want it._

 _-Faye_

 _P.S_

' _Whatever comes cannot alter one thing.'_

* * *

Leaning against the brick wall of the school while waiting for Iris to pick her up Faye half listened to Butch prattle on about his new favourite cartoon. Spectacular Spiderman, it was a good show and had funny quips. It was becoming a usual occurrence for Iris to drop Faye to school at least once or twice a week and then pick her up afterwards. The two would then usually go back to Iris's shop and gorge themselves on cookies, tea and unwind from their day.

"So, did you want to or not?" Butch questioned causing Faye to jump slightly.

Sheepishly she looked over at her friend, wondering how she had gotten lucky enough that this utter ball of sunshine had decided to latch himself permanently onto her hip. Even though they were only eight, she could already see the man that Butch would one day become. He was kind, gentle and funny, a real catch and Faye was going to be sure to give a good shovel talk to any girl or boy who ever dated him.

"Sorry, I wasn't listening. Could you repeat the question please?"

Butch rolled his eyes dramatically, sighing as if Faye had committed a great mortal sin.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out this afternoon."

It was a tempting offer. But, this afternoon Iris and Faye were going back to the house to have a picnic with Rhea out in the garden and Rhea hated people cancelling last minute. Besides, as much as she loved spending time with Butch, he didn't make the most delectable muffins known to mankind.

"I can't, family plans" Faye apologised, hoping that Butch would understand.

Faye thanked God when Butch grinned at her happily, slinging his arm around her shoulders.

"What about tomorrow?"

"I'll check with Hestia, she'll most likely be okay with it," Faye replied, leaning into her friend.

It was crazy how comfortable Faye felt around Butch, most children she tried to avoid, annoyed at their childish tendencies. But Butch was different, he seemed attuned to her moods, able to tell when she needed space, and he never pushed her. The fact that Butch also didn't seem to care when the boys teased him for 'liking' her or for having 'girl cooties' certainly made his friendship that much more valuable in her opinion. Butch didn't care about the norm and Faye could already catch glimpses of the strong, empathetic and kind man he would become.

The two of them stood there for a few more minutes before Iris's brightly coloured van pulled up. It looked like it could have been plucked right out of the backyard of a hippy with peace signs and rainbow graffiti all over it.

With a quick goodbye to Butch and the promise she would talk to Hestia, Faye was off. Hauling herself inside the van she smiled brightly at Iris, taking in the Goddesses pastel pink hair and deep purple eyes. Sometimes Faye was so jealous of Iris for being able to change her hair and eye colour at will, to have so many options.

"Hey Iris, how was your day?"

Before she had finished asking her question and buckling up her seatbelt, Iris was slamming her foot on the accelerator, and the car was moving away from Faye's school at a dangerous speed.

"Iris?" Faye questioned, her voice tinged with concern.

It wasn't like Iris to tear out of the school grounds suddenly, and Faye had never seen her friends' hair colour change between six different colours before settling on pitch black, her eyes shifting to match. It was as if all the colour had been drained from Iris's face and she refused to acknowledge Faye.

"Iris!" Faye screamed when the Goddess suddenly swerved, nearly colliding with another car.

It was as if Iris had suddenly disconnected herself from reality. The world around her no longer mattered and without even glancing towards Faye she continued driving, Faye hoped that the police would pull them over or something because she didn't think she was going to get out of the car ride alive if Iris didn't come to her senses. Throwing all sense of precaution out the window when Iris once again swerved in between two cars, Faye reached out and pinched Iris hard on the thigh.

In hindsight, it was not her best idea, as proven when Iris decided to go off the road and slam on the brakes so hard that Faye's entire body was wrenched forward causing her head to whack loudly into the dashboard.

"Fuck!" Faye swore loudly, pulling at the seatbelt that was now constricting her ribs painfully.

It was as if the floodgates had been wrenched open and Iris slumped over the steering wheel bawling. Unclipping her seatbelt, pulling up the handbrake and shifting the car into park, Faye manoeuvred herself to face Iris as best she could.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry Faye. I didn't mean to¬–" Iris wept, her hair changing from black to pale blonde.

"I'm fine, it's okay, whatever's wrong it's going to be okay," Faye murmured, "can you tell me what's wrong? Was it something I did?"

Iris seemed unable to answer, her breaths coming out in short gasps as she hunched over, her hands clasping the wheel tightly.

"I just…I can't." Iris sobbed, and without warning she leant back, her hand curled into a tight fist, and she punched the steering wheel hard. The usually calm goddesses face was twisted into a mask of fury and the red eyes she now sported glowed ominously.

And suddenly, it all made sense and Faye couldn't understand how she had been so stupid not to see the similarities before. The deep purple eyes, the way both of their noses scrunched up in concentration when they were thinking hard about something and the shared cupids bow. Iris and Butch were related, Butch was a demi-god and Iris was his mother.

"He's your son." Faye murmured as Iris continued to punch the steering wheel, ignoring Faye completely.

"Iris, Butch is your son," Faye repeated louder, this time her words seemed to break through the Goddesses rage.

Iris sat, her hair and eyes draining of colour and her shoulders slumping at Faye's words. It was as if all the fight had disappeared as if she had become a shadow of the woman that Faye knew. The steering wheel was dented in multiple places, and a part of Faye wondered why the airbag hadn't gone off yet.

Faye opened her mouth, but no words came out, she didn't know whether to comfort the Goddess or to offer her aid, she had no idea how to handle a situation such as this. All she wanted to do was wrap her arms around the kind Goddess that had supported her through so much and stuck by her side and see her smile once more.

"Before you offer, there's nothing you can do." Iris cut her off gently Faye's mouth shut with an audible click.

The sheer exhaustion on her friend's face was terrifying that someone so energetic and lively could be brought to such a state because of an outdated law that benefitted no one but those who wished to relinquish their parental duties.

"No one must know Faye, please, you have to understand that no one can know."

The words spoken were barely above a whisper, but Faye knew exactly how important they were, the severity of them. Iris was not a powerful Goddess, she was not an Olympian, she was a minor Goddess who had no choice but to follow the rules set before her. Faye's heart clenched tightly in her chest, and she reached out tentatively to hold onto Iris's hand.

"It's alright Iris, I understand. I won't tell anyone, not even Hestia."

Iris smiled softly back, entwining her fingers with Faye's. Iris's hair turned from ashen white to brown, and her eyes changed to mirror Faye's. Iris rested one hand against the steering wheel, fixing the damage she had done and soon drove back onto the highway, her hand never leaving Faye's, holding tightly to it as if it was a lifeline.

* * *

Over the year that Faye had known Hades and Persephone, she had slowly gained more and more freedom when she visited the Underworld. Faye was practically allowed to walk the halls unchaperoned. Faye had arrived that day to spend some time with Persephone only to find that both the King and Queen of the Underworld were inundated with work. Faye had offered to leave, not wanting to bother either of the Gods, but they had insisted that she stay. In fact, Persephone had looked so upset when she had mentioned leaving that Faye had soon found herself promising that she wouldn't go until they caught up.

It had been getting harder and harder to make time for each other, with Faye's ever-expanding family and Persephone and Hades both being inundated with the souls of dead mortals. It sometimes made her wonder how they would both act when it was her; they had to greet one day. Would they welcome her with open arms or would they dismiss her as they would any other mortal?

Wandering through the never-ending halls of Hades palace was a pastime that Faye thoroughly enjoyed. Lady would usually walk beside her, tongue out and tail wagging as she explored rooms that seemed frozen in time. A 1920's woman's boudoir with flapper dresses hanging in a closet and delicate glass perfume bottles, a ballroom with crystal chandeliers and an orchestra that seemed to play by itself. It was a hidden haven of era's long gone that Persephone and Hades had created.

The day Faye met the God of Death it was very much an accident, as most of her meetings with the divine were. She didn't bump into him like Athena, nor did she seamlessly find herself becoming a part of his life as she had with Iris. No, the reason that Faye met the God of Death that winters day down in the Underworld was because of Lady.

While exploring one through the dark marble halls of Hades Palace, Lady had decided to run off, barking down along the corridors while Faye rushed furiously after her. Faye had come to a violent stop when she finally caught up with Lady, her jaw dropping at the sight that met her. Lady had practically barrelled into the legs of a man, who thankfully hadn't fallen over, but was being harassed rather extensively by an overexcitable puppy.

But, it wasn't the fact that her usually well-behaved pup seemed to have lost all sense of decorum that made her jaw drop. No, it was the lean muscular man with skin the colour of teakwood, black hair that flowed down his shoulders and eyes the shade of honey gold that made her heart skip a beat. It was then Faye noticed the wings and she couldn't prevent the gasp that escaped her. His feathers glimmered in shades of blue, black and purple and Faye fought the desire to go to him and caress his wings.

The Gods eyes seemed to bore into her very soul, seeing Faye for who she was. As if every part of her had been laid bare to this man. A portion of her was revolted in the sheer intimacy of his gaze, while another part revelled in the fact that someone was seeing her for her, for the person that she was.

"Death has touched you."

It was not a question, but a statement and Faye's heart clenched in her chest, her pulse quickening at the God's words.

"You could say that." She said, taking a step closer to the beautiful God.

There were few Gods who were welcome in Hades realm, and was quite sure that the God before her was Thanatos himself. Persephone had spoken of him from time to time, as had Charon in passing. A powerful God who preferred to keep to himself, one that was known to be polite, but cold, the God of Death.

Faye's breath hitched in her throat as the God took a step closer to her, the two of them only a foot away from each other. It was as if something deep inside her called to him, begging to be freed.

"Yet, it was not I who came to claim your soul, nor I think shall I ever." His words were spoken softly, barely above a whisper, yet Faye felt as if they had been shouted.

Faye had died, presumably in a world where Greek Gods didn't make it a habit of walking among mortals and she had been reborn in a world different from her own. A world with monsters, half-bloods and creations that she would never have thought up in her wildest dreams, a world that seemed familiar at times, but that was so very different from her own. And yet, Faye didn't fear her secret being known by a God other than Hecate, she found she didn't fear Thanatos as she did Hecate, instead she was filled with regret and a sense of longing.

"They are drawn to you like moths to a flame. A soul taken from another world so very like our own by a being of immeasurable force, it's no wonder they flock to you." The God drawled.

Looking her up and down once more, Thanatos shrugged before beginning to continue on his way. Faye wanted to scream. Why was it that any God that seemed to have the answers to her questions never wanted to share them?

"Wait. Stop! What do you mean?" Faye asked, running to catch up with him much to Lady's delight, walking beside Faye with a rather happy look on her face.

Thanatos stopped, looking down at her quizzically, as if he wasn't quite sure what to do with her.

"I mean that your soul has been touched by a being much older and much more formidable than myself. You see, sometimes, very rarely, when you take something that does not belong to you the thing that you have stolen decides to take something from you in return."

Faye was so close to throttling Thanatos it wasn't even funny. Talking about souls and stealing made no sense to her. She had been stolen from and had certainly gotten nothing in return. But, perhaps he wasn't talking about her, perhaps he was talking about Hecate and the theft of her magic that had brought Faye to this world. Faye took a deep breath in an attempt to quell her frustration. There was no point in yelling or losing her temper, if she wanted answers she had to ask reasonably and politely.

"Please, I want answers. I thought Hecate was forced to bring me here by the Fates, I mean the Moirai. I thought they stole her magic! Do you know why they brought me here?" Faye pleaded, hoping that finally the God would see sense and explain some things.

"Through the aid of Hecate's magic, the Moirai were able to extract the original soul from this body and place yours within it. To put it simply the Moirai only led you to this body that you now call your own. They did a fine job."

And Faye lost it. Who the hell did this God think he was complimenting three demented old ladies on ruining her life? A fine job? Was he joking? Did he not understand how fucked up it all was? And Faye had thought Hecate was hard to deal with, at least she gave her answers.

"A fine job? A fine fucking job? Do I look like a toy to you? They didn't do a fine job, they fucked up!"

"Don't you dare walk away from me!" Faye yelled and without warning reached out, yanking on the Gods wing.

Thanatos's eyes seemed to bulge out of his head and his mouth twisted into an ugly grimace as he turned slightly to glare down at her. But, Faye couldn't have cared less, if she had been taller, she would have yanked his pretty hair instead. She wanted her answers, and she was not going to let them walk away from her.

"You'd do well to take your hands off me." Thanatos warned, reaching down to wrap his hand around her wrist tightly. Faye glared back up at him, trying to emulate the fierce look that Athena got in her eyes when she was annoyed.

"I don't care if you're the fucking God of Death, do you think I care about dying? I want some answers, starting with why–"

Faye very nearly combusted when a finger came to rest on her lips, preventing her from speaking another word. She was sure that if she had looked in the mirror, she would have been turning purple from anger. She was going to pluck the God of death like the overgrown chicken he was. God or not!

"Faye Edwards, you will never gain the answers you seek from me. Your situation is unique, and for that, I will forgive you this indiscretion. Know I will do my best to see you pass on peacefully as you deserve. Your death was taken from you, and I promise you shall not be robbed of it again."

The Gods words left a hollow feeling in Faye as all of her anger seemed to leech out of her. Uncaringly Thanatos walked away, his wings tucked in tight as if fearing her grubby little hands would once more accost him. Her answers had been right in front of her and she had let them walk away. Sighing, Faye sat on the ground, smiling slightly when Lady nuzzled her face. A part of Faye wondered if she was being stupid chasing the truth as to her appearance in this world, but she had to know. Her curiosity would not allow her to let the knowledge slip away from her. One way or another, no matter how long it took, Faye knew she was going to get her answers.

Faye couldn't help feeling the slightest bit of satisfaction, because at least one thing was certain, in this terrible yet wonderful new world. She would die, and no one, no God or three cantankerous old women were going to take that from her, Thanatos had promised.

* * *

The sunlight that filtered through the window cast warm shadows across the room and the smell of freshly baked cookies and tea filled the house. It was a perfect afternoon, the weather was warm, and Artemis's and Athena's visits had somehow lined up. At first, Faye had been wary, worried that an argument would break out, but both Goddesses seemed to get along wonderfully. Curled up on the couch with a book that she was only two chapters away from finishing, Faye was enraptured, Athena had followed her example and had pulled out a heavy text. Artemis, on the other hand, was not happy.

"I don't understand why you both would rather 'finish your chapters' when the weather is perfect for shooting. I didn't come here for a book club." Artemis grumbled.

"Because it's a good book," Faye responded, refusing to tear her eyes from her novel.

Artemis groaned loudly, and Faye finally looked down at Artemis who was lounging on the ground at her feet. Faye couldn't help herself as she sighed in exasperation at the look of utter distaste that Artemis continued to shoot her book. Didn't Artemis understand that she just wanted some peace and quiet to finish her book, the Goddess had her for the rest of the week? Artemis could allow Faye her reading time with Athena. She was so happy that Athena understood her desire to finish her book, she just wished that Artemis could be as considerate as her fellow Goddess. Running her fingers along the pages of her book she nestled back into the soft pillows on the couch.

"Artemis is perhaps right Faye. The weather is too good to not go outside."

Obviously, there was foul play going on, because Athena would never voice such things. Faye raised her eyebrow in suspicion when Athena only looked back at her serenely, going so far as to gesture for Faye to get up off the couch.

"Thank you, Athena. No more excuses for you Faye." Artemis crowed and reached for Faye's book only to have her pull it out of reach.

Sometimes Artemis was such a little Gremlin. Faye was in the honest opinion that someone had fed her after midnight, or injected her with sugar because Artemis seemed to be exceptionally happy. She was finding too much enjoyment in annoying Faye for her comfort.

"I hate you both," Faye stated bluntly, bookmarking her place and hiding her book behind a pillow before Artemis got the idea in her head that the book needed to go.

With a whoop of joy, Artemis was off to prepare for some sort of fun physical activity, probably archery. Hopefully, Athena would be able to convince Artemis that they didn't have to shoot the entire time. Walking outside the smell of Hestia's garden was nearly overwhelming. Lilacs, coriander, gardenias, jasmine and so many other species of plants that seemed to be in constant bloom just waiting to be picked. The scent of them made Faye's nose itch slightly, and she couldn't help sneezing.

Looking up smile crept onto Faye's face as she watched Artemis gather targets from the shed and set them up safely in the yard the 'mortal way'. The Goddess long auburn hair was unbound, and her joy was practically tangible, giggles of excitement escaping her every so often and Lady had decided to get up out of her bed and run behind her, barking at her heels.

"You know, in all of my years I have never seen Artemis so happy as when she is with you."

Faye jumped slightly, looking up to Athena who stood beside her with an expression that Faye couldn't seem to decipher.

"Thank you, Thena, but I highly doubt that."

At her words Faye froze, hardly daring to look up at the Goddess of Wisdom. She wanted to melt into the floor, to disappear into nothingness. Faye prayed that Lady would come over and distract them or that Artemis would come and drag her away. Faye wanted to bash her head against the door frame, she wanted to rewind time and shove a pair of dirty socks in her past self's mouth.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to Athena, it won't happen again." Faye apologised, refusing to look her friend in the eye, refusing to look up and face her fury, or worse, her scorn.

"Nonsense, if you wish to call me Thena, then you shall call me Thena."

Faye's head snapped upwards, brown eyes wide. The way that Athena had spoken had been so nonchalant as if she allowed anyone to decide what they chose to call her, but the red hue of her cheeks gave her away. And, the way the Goddess refused to look her in the eye told Faye everything she needed to know. Faye reached up, itching her eyes, trying to fight the sudden urge to hug Athena tightly and cry. It was an honour and a privilege to realise how much Athena cared for her.

Of course, Artemis had to appear at that moment, her eyes narrowed and teeth slightly bared. Possessively, the younger goddess wrapped an arm around Faye's waist, pulling her close to her as if she was afraid Faye would suddenly disappear.

"What's this? Athena's got a nickname?" Artemis questioned, her lips pursed.

At the question Athena rolled her eyes at Faye, the two of them falling into a silent conversation that involved exasperated sighs and raised eyebrows. Artemis could be too possessive sometimes, but that was Artemis. It was unlikely she was going to change, and everyone had their faults, the Gods seemed to have more than the mortals that worshipped them.

"Well then, where's mine? I'm your Best Friend. Where's mine?"

Faye snorted at Artemis, rolling her eyes at her friends' pout. The fact that Athena wasn't really paying any attention to Artemis's little tantrum just seemed to make the situation all the more hilarious. Well, if Artemis wanted a nickname, a nickname she would get.

"Alright, Gremlin it is," Faye stated matter-of-factly.

The gasp that escaped Artemis and the sheer look of horror that crossed her face broke Faye's composure. Laughing at her friends' expression, Faye didn't even try to suppress herself. It certainly didn't help matters when a soft chuckle escaped from Athena. If Faye had been told, she would be comfortable making fun of and laughing at a Goddess that was known for her vindictiveness she would have thought the person mad. But, she knew that Artemis wouldn't hurt her. There were few things that Faye was certain of in her new life, but Artemis was one of them. And if the way Artemis's lips kept twitching were any indication she wasn't too offended.

"Gremlin! I'll show you Gremlin." Artemis declared, practically launching herself at Fay causing her to fall backwards.

The warning growl that came from Athena to 'be careful with her' was surprisingly heeded as Artemis somehow managed to cradle her head to prevent any injury and proceeded to tickle her mercilessly. Thankfully, Faye's cries for Athena's help were answered, and within moments the Goddess of the Moon was being held up by the scruff of her neck by Athena while Faye attempted to catch her breath.

The moment Faye looked up and saw Artemis dangling from Athena's hand she couldn't stop herself from breaking out into giggles. And soon the three of them were filling the room with the sound of laughter, their happiness contagious.

* * *

 _Dearest Faye,_

 _The quote is from 'A Little Princess', by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I am not one to say this often, but, thank you. Thank you for allowing me into your life. It's been a pleasure so far, and I cannot wait to see you grow into the beautiful and intelligent woman I know you shall become. Know that if you ever wish to discuss anything I am here. Also, there is no need to fear my anger. I know you are wary about balancing your relationships, but know that I shan't dissuade you if you wish to continue to explore a friendship with those you think I would disapprove of. I only ask that you take care and that if someone were to harm you that you would come to me so that I might offer comfort and support._

 _-Athena_

 _P.S_

' _I would rather have your friendship than the love of any other woman in the world.'_

* * *

 **ephemeral-times, OTrizy, Angelicsailor, Chinchi37, La'Rae and Ninjas Incorporated, Daughter of Prometheus, FieryWaters, HatTipper, mikurocks123, Shadow reader, crazcray, daisy2daizy and cloudswoopt and many Guests thank you for your reviews! You guys are amazing! I am so sorry for the very long wait. A lot of things happened and life got very hectic, I was overseas, I was swamped with work and my laptop decided to spaz and I lost this chapter just before it was finished.**

 **This chapter may have seemed a little fillery to you, but I swear it's important, especially the stuff with Thanatos. And the next chapter is full of crazy stuff, in fact two of the scenes within the next chapter are some of the first things I wrote when I came up with this idea and I have been waiting to reach the next chapter for so freaking long.**

 **Again thank you to anyone who Followed, Favourited and/or Reviewed this story, you guys are what made me want to continue writing this.**

 **ephemeral-times: I'm so excited to be able to explore it and that quote is perfect!**

 **Angelicsailor: Thank you so much, I'm always so worried about how I portray them because I want to really show that they're just like us, except unchecked and with ultimate power.**

 **Daughter of Prometheus: Oh yes, jealousy will be a big thing with Faye and the Demigods. And, let's just day Faye's an advocate for parents taking responsibility and she had no qualms about pointing out her family and friends faults when it comes to their parenting.**

 **FieryWaters: It is unfair that Poseidon is giving her attention, trust me, it's going to be touched upon. The relationship between Faye and Poseidon is a big thing in the next few chapters. And honestly, I the fact that you said she has a 'Faye Army'. It's definitely going to be an advantage, but the bigger her family grows, the more problems it creates internally. Many of the Gods have grudges against each other, just cause they're friends with the same person doesn't mean their opinions are changing.**

 **HatTipper: No one deserves Hestia in this story, not even Faye. Hestia is just too perfect for this world in my opinion. And not spoiling too much, but the Poseidon liked the fact there weren't expectations with Faye, he could speak his mind, she'd call him out on shit, but honestly she was supporting him. To put it simply, he went to therapy and found he loved it and wants to go back for more.**

 **cloudswoop: Thank you. You seriously made my day. You are way too lovely for your own good. I'm so happy you like how the relationships are being portrayed and I can't wait for the Hunters to meet Faye. I think it's one of the scenes I am most looking forward to. Also, honestly, the review didn't bother me. In fact I laughed for a solid thirty minutes. But, thank you for defending me. Besides, he was right about one thing. This fic is 'self-pleasuring' I wouldn't write it if it didn't give me pleasure.**


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